THE   ROBERT  E.  COWAN  COLLECTION 

PRESENTED   TO   Till; 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


C.  P.  HUNTINGTON 

JUNE,   1897. 

3ssiori  No  (s>0£S~          Class  No 


THINGS  TO  THINK  OF. 


BY  REV.  H.  A.  SAWTELLE. 


SAN  FEANCISCO: 
A.    KOMAN    &    COMPANY, 

11    MONTGOMERY  STREET. 

1873. 


SPAULDING  &  BABTO,  BARTLINQ  &  KIMBALL, 

Printers.  Binders. 


PREFACE. 


The  most  of  the  condensed  statements  contained 
in  this  book  are  the  author's  own,  and  they  are 
generally  made  with  the  ardor,  relish,  and  accent, 
of  deep  conviction.  The  writer  has  believed,  and 
therefore  spoken.  Some  of  the  things  stated  with 
strong  emphasis  will  be  deemed  hard  and  even  re- 
pelling; but  if  the  writer  believes  them,  if  he  finds 
them  required  by  the  Bible  and  the  analogy  of  the 
Christian  system,  shall  he  not  utter  them?  A 
preacher  should  ask  no  pardon  for  speaking  the 
truth  as  he  himself  perceives  it.  Least  of  all  need 
he  be  counted  an  enemy  to  any  who  cannot  accept 
what  he  ministers.  A  people  want  their  preacher 
to  be  honest  and  outspoken  in  all  doctrine,  even 
though  they  cannot  as  yet  follow  him  in  every  par- 
ticular. The  reader  will  here  find  brevities  upon  the 
greatest  variety  of  important  topics;  yet  he  will  see 
that  a  prominence  is  given  to  the  old  evangelical 
doctrines,  the  old  ideas  of  sin  and  salvation,  which 
however  are  ever  new  and  ever  germinant  with  the 
believing:  mind.  Re-statements  of  some  of  these 


IV  PREFACE. 

old  matters  the  author  feels  to  be  both  necessary 
and  timely;  and  he  does  not  doubt  that  in  the  brief 
form  here  taken  they  will  arrest  attention  and  lodge 
in  the  mind  as  they  would  not  otherwise  do.  He 
hopes,  in  the  somewhat  unusual  manner  of  the 
present  volume,  to  contribute  something  towards 
planting  strong  Bible  principles  in  the  community, 
towards  nourishing  and  establishing  sincere  minds 
in  the  great  truth  of  Christ,  and  towards  withstand- 
ing certain  of  the  busy  errors  of  the  day.  At  the 
same  time,  may  he  not  possibly  excite  some  to 
more  thoughtfulness  in  general,  to  a  deeper  sense 
of  duty,  and  to  more  loving  search  into  the  mines 
of  truth?  If  such  objects  are  promoted  by  the 
present  effort,  if  in  this  way  the  writer  may  serve, 
not  only  others,  but  also  the  people  among  whom 
he  has  so  long  and  enjoyably  labored,  if  thus  he 
may  do  a  little  for  the  Master  apart  from  whom  lie 
can  have  no  interest,  he  has  indeed  both  his  desire 
and  his  plentiful  reward.  - 

San  Francisco,  December  11,  1872. 


CONTENTS. 


THINGS  TO  THINK  OF—  PAOE. 

1.  IN  BIBLE  BEADING 7 

2.  IN  THEOLOGY 32 

3.  IN  THEOLOGY — SIN  AND  ITS  PUNISHMENT.  ...    55 

4.  ON  THE  NEW  LIFE 69 

5.  BELATING  TO  THE  CHURCH 93 

6.  FOR  THE  PREACHERS  .. 114 

7.  IN  PHILOSOPHY 133 

8      IN  LITERATURE  ....*'..: 149 

9.     MISCELLANEOUS , 171 


THINGS  TO  THINK  OF. 


PART   I. 

IN  BIBLE  READING. 

THAT  TRUTH  is  opened  to  us  which  we 
are  disposed  to  obey. 

OFTEN  what  is  only  a  seed  in  the  early 
part  of  the  Bible,  we  find  to  be  a  grown 
tree  in  the  sequel. 

WHEN  Hagar's  bottle  of  water  is  spent; 
God's  fountain  comes  to  view.  Gen.  21: 
15,  19. 

GOD  will  honor  those  who  honor  him. 
The  midwives  Shiprah  and  Puah,  in  Ex. 
1:  15-21,  are  an  example. 

ON  SINAI  God  spoke  in  one  tongue ;  at 
Pentecost  in  many. 

GOD  said  that  he  himself  would  be 
Abraham's  exceeding  great  reward. 

THE  GREATNESS  of  Moses  is  suggested  in 
the  way  he  met  the  Pharaoh  who  was  es- 


O  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

teemed  a  god.  See  Stanley's  "  Jewish  His- 
tory/' vol.  I.  pp.  100-103. 

MARY  was  at  the  sepulchre  with  fear 
and  great  Joy. 

THERE  is  not  in  Scripture,  says  one,  a 
more  perfect  and  beautiful  type  of  Christ 
than  Joseph. 

IN  THE  interpretation  of  a  text  consult 
the  context,  and  recall  its  original  occa- 
sion. 

DR.  GOULBURN  says  there  can  be  no  se- 
curity for  sound  doctrinal  inference,  or 
right  practical  application,  except  the  sit- 
uation, sentiments,  and  associations,  of 
the  parties  originally  addressed,  be  first 
understood, 

THE  SUN  rose  on  Sodom  just  before  its 
destruction. 

SAMUEL  was  a  type  of  Christ,  as  prophet, 
priest,  and  king.  In  tracing  out  the  sub- 
ject, begin  with  1  Sam.  7:15. 

PROF.  JOWETT,  of  Oxford,  says:  He  who, 
in  the  present  state  of  knowledge,  will  con- 
fine himself  to  the  plain  meaning  of  words, 
and  the  study  of  their  context,  may  know 
more  of  the  original  spirit  and  intention 


IN   BIBLE   READING.  9 

of  the  authors  of  the  New  Testament,  than 
all  the  controversial  writers  of  former  ages 
put  together. 

MARTIN  LUTHER  characterized  the  third 
chapter  of  Romans  as  the  central  and  most 
important  passage  of  the  epistle,  and  in- 
deed of  the  entire  Scriptures. 

THE  DIFFICULTIES  of  Scripture  are  neces- 
sary for  the  discipline  of  souls,  and  the 
exercise  of  their  freedom.  They  are  also 
tests  of  faith. 

FROM  the  experience  of  Philip  at  Sama- 
ria (Acts  8:14-17),  it  would  seem  that 
persons  who  had  received  power  from  the 
apostles  to  work  miracles  could  not  trans- 
mit the  gift  to  others. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  owes  the  gospel  to  all  men. 
Rom.  1:14.  What  he  has  received  has 
brought  him  in  debt  to  others. 

LET  us  be  willing  that  the  Bible  should 
contain  mysteries.  Is  there  no  opportu- 
nity for  faith  in  respect  to  divine  doc- 
trines ? 

THE  INTERPRETER  should   seek   to   know 
the  drift  of  Scripture  and  not  merely  here 
and  there  a  text. 
2 


10    .  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

A  NEW  writer  maintains  that  sparing  the 
rod,  in  Solomon's  famous  passage,  is  the 
neglect  to  exercise  parental  authority,  sym- 
bolized by  the  rod. 

THE  REASONS  why  the  Psalms  are  so  dear 
to  God's  people,  may  all,  says  Dr.  Hovey, 
be  reduced  to  one,  that  they  are  the  utter- 
ances of  divine  truth  in  the  form  of  relig- 
ious feeling. 

JOB  esteemed  the  words  of  the  Lord 
"  more  than  his  necessary  food." 

WAS  the  Spirit's  work  of  the  new  birth 
taught  in  the  Old  Testament  ?  See  John 
3:10. 

SOME  statements  in  the  Bible,  if  inter- 
preted too  literally,  are  over-statements. 
For  example,  John  3:32;  4:29;  21:25. 

"  LET  HIM  that  heareth  say,  Come,"  was 
practically  illustrated  by  the  Samaritan 
woman. 

"  MY  righteousness  is  near."  Isa.  51 :  5. 
Then  it  is  where  the  weakest  faith  can 
reach  it  and  appropriate  it. 

ONE  of  the  earliest  descriptions  of  God's 
people  is  that  they  are  a  praying  people. 
Gen.  4:26. 


IN    BIBLE    READING.  11 

WHY  did  the  Jews  call  Jesus  a  Samari- 
tan? 

GIDEON,  Amasai,  and  Zachariah,  were 
clothed  with  the  Spirit. 

WHY  was  the  paschal  lamb  of  the  He- 
brews eaten  with  bitter  herbs  ? 

THERE  is  no  blessing  we  have  more  en- 
couragement to  pray  for  than  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Luke  11:13. 

THE  BOOK  of  Genesis  has  been  well  de- 
scribed as  the  seed  plot  of  the  whole  Bible, 
and  indeed  of  all  human  history. 

THE  GIBEONITES,  though  not  of  the  con- 
gregation of  Israel,  yet  served  it  as  hewers 
of  wood  and  drawers  of  water.  Josh.  9 : 
21;  2  Sam.  21:2.  Has  not  our  new  life, 
has  not  also  the  church,  some  servants  an- 
swering to  these  Gibeonites? 

THE  TREE  bearing  twelve  manner  of 
fruits  (Rev.  22:2)  is  also  in  the  soul  of 
the  regenerate  man. 

How  SWEETLY  suggestive  the  Psalms  are 
to  him  who  puts  his  mind  down  close  to 
them! 

ELIHU  sought  refreshment  in  speaking. 
Job.  32:20. 


12  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

CHRISTIANITY  is  both  a  creed  and  a  life. 
The  idea  of  it  as  a  life  prevails  in  the  first 
epistle  of  John. 

SANCTIFICATION  is  at  once  a  subduing  and 
a  growing  process.  2  Sam.  3:1.  It  always 
works  in  two  directions. 

IF  THE  BEREAVED  would  more  generally 
seek  the  worship  of  God's  house,  as  David 
did  when  his  boy  died  (2  Sam.  12:20),  it 
would  be  much  better  for  them.  This 
keeping  from  church,  because  one  is  afflict- 
ed, is  a  folly  and  a  wrong.  And  yet  how 
common ! 

CONVERTS,  not  running  well,  are  a  minis- 
ter's humiliation.  2  Cor.  12:21. 

DAVID  numbered  the  valiant  men  who 
drew  the  sword,  prompted  by  the  fighting 
lust.  This  was  not  strictly  a  numbering 
of  the  people. 

THE  MEANING  of  Scripture  is  unveiled  to 
us  in  proportion  as  we  become  spiritual. 

PAYNE  SMITH  says  in  his  Bampton  Lec- 
tures: "It  is  by  no  means  certain  that 
Paul  was  right  in  going  up  to  Jerusalem 
after  the  many  warnings  he  had  of  what 
awaited  him."  But  granting  he  was  right 


IN    BIBLE    READING.  13 

in  this,  was  he  right  in  consenting  to  pu- 
rify himself  with  the  four  men  who  had  a 
vow,  which  occasioned  the  trouble  ?  Inspi- 
ration didn't  make  his  actions  infallible. 

THE  OIL  on  Aaron's  head  went  down  to 
his  garments ;  so  the  Spirit  in  Christ  flows 
to  his  members. 

REBECCA  in  her  marriage  with  Isaac,  in 
almost  all  its  circumstances,  was  a  type  of 
the  church,  the  spouse  of  Christ,  said  Jon- 
athan Edwards. 

POWER  with  God  involves  power  with 
men.  Gen.  32:28. 

ONE  pervasive  lesson  of  Old  Testament 
prophecy  is  God's  long-suffering. 

JONAH'S  mission  to  Gentile  Nineveh,  and 
its  success,  are  a  gospel  promise  for  the 
world. 

DANIEL  looking  at  the  coming  kingdom 
of  the  Messiah  largely  with  Gentile  eyes, 
is  said  to  be  a  link  between  Jewish  proph- 
ecy and  the  Christian  church. 

THE  AUTHOR  of  u  Prophecy  a  Prepara- 
tion for  Christ"  says  he  believes  the 
toned-down  style  of  the  latter  half  of 
Isaiah's  prophecy  resulted  from  its  being 


14  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

written  in  his  extreme  old  age,  and  com- 
posed not  for  public  delivery  but  for  study 
in  the  prophetic  colleges!  We  think  about 
four  things  are  coolly  assumed  in  this 
statement. 

THOSE  WHOM  Paul  addressed  with  the 
words,  "Work  out  your  own  salvation 
with  fear  and  trembling,"  were  already 
members  of  the  church  and  supposed  to 
be  converted. 

GOD  LEADS  men  into  the  wilderness,  be- 
fore he  speaks  comfortably  to  them.  Ho- 
sea  2:14. 

BELIEF  is  entrance  to  rest.     Heb.  4:3. 

THE  SPIRIT  does  not  now  reveal  new 
truths  to  Christians,  but  makes  old  ones 
plain  and  striking. 

WHILE  MANY  reject  Christ,  it  is  good  to 
know  that  all  whom  the  Father  hath  given 
him  shall  come  unto  him.  John  6:  37. 

THE  FEAR  of  the  Lord,  commended  by 
Peter  in  Acts  10:35,  contains  in  itself  a 
strong  element  of  faith. 

THE  CENTURION,  whose  faith  Jesus  so 
commended,  had  also  wonderful  humility. 

REPENTANCE  is  Christ's  gift.     Acts  5:  31. 


« 


IN    BIBLE 

WERE  THERE  not  ten  cleansed  ?  But 
where  are  the  nine  ? 

To  HAVE  God's  law  written  in  the  heart, 
is  to  have  the  obeying  disposition. 

SOME  ARE  CALLED  perfect  in  Scripture,  not 
as  being  absolutely  free  from  sin,  but  be- 
cause they  are  consciously  complete  in 
Christ,  and  holiness  is  their  ruling  princi- 
ple or  habit. 

TRUTH  PRESENTED  in  natural  imagery  is 
only  dressed  in  the  garments  which  God 
has  given  it. 

THE  VEIL  of  the  temple  was  rent  in 
twain,  not  from  below  as  by  human  hand, 
but  from  above  as  by  the  hand  of  God. 

CASTING  one's  garments  at  the  feet  of 
another  was  an  oriental  symbol  of  homage. 

ONE  WHO  is  himself  a  doctrinal  giant 
says :  The  giants  in  theology  have  dared  to 
let  many  books  go  unread,  that  they  might 
be  profoundly  versed  in  revelation. 

IT  is  NOT  for  us  to  say  what  the  Scrip- 
tures ought  to  teach,  but  what  they  do 
teach. 

GOSPEL  justification  is  called  "  justifica- 
tion of  life  "  in  Rom.  5:18.  Why  so  ? 


16  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

.  IF  ONE  READS  the  Bible  only  when  he  feels 
like  it,  he  will  by  and  by  not  read  it  at  all. 
So  in  the  matter  of  praying.  Those  who 
make  the  performance  of  religious  duties 
wait  on  their  feelings  have  here  something 
to  think  of. 

BENGEL  was  the  author  of  the  pregnant 
saying,  that  the  New  Testament  is  hid  in 
the  Old,  and  the  Old  Testament  is  opened 
in  the  New. 

IN  AMOS  5 :  8,  God  styles  himself  the  one 
who  "  turneth  the  shadow  of  death  into 
morning,"  which  would  be  an  excellent 
text  at  the  funeral  service  of  a  Christian. 

A  BIBLE  TRUTH  I  must  believe,  though  it 
cross  my  prejudice,  though  it  humble  my 
will,  and  though  it  contradict  my  early 
education. 

IT  WOULD  APPEAR  from  Hebrew  10 :  25-27, 
that  remissness  as  to  assembling  ourselves 
together  is  the  first  step  to  apostasy. 

IT  is  A  WORK  of  Satan  to  blind  men  to 
the  light  of  the  glorious  gospel  of  Christ. 
2  Cor.  4:4. 

GOD'S  WORD  is  the  glass  in  which  we  see 
his  face  reflected. 


IN    BIBLE    READING.  17 

NINE  OUT  OF  TEN  of  the  prayers  left  on 
record  in  the  Bible  have  temporal  mercies 
included,  says  an  old  author. 

MARTIN  LUTHER  always  sang  the  forty- 
sixth  Psalm  in  his  distress,  and  called  it 
the  war  song  of  the  church. 

THERE  NEVER  was  a  genuine  work  of  grace 
which  was  not  the  fruit  of  the  seed  of  the 
word  in  some  heart  or  hearts. 

REFERRING  to  2  Sam.  23:5,  one  has  said: 
"  There  is  an  'although'  in  this  verse.  The 
Christian  has  always  here  an  'although',— 
some  drawback,  some  thorn  in  the  flesh, 
some  crook  in  his  lot,  some  little  drop  in 
his  cup,  some  cloud  in  his  sky." 

LET  DELILAH  take  away  your  strength, 
and  the  Philistines  shall  next  dig  out  your 
eyes. 

THAT  NO  AMOUNT  of  warning,  judgment, 
or  visible  miracle,  can  change  the  willful 
bent  of  a  soul  is  illustrated  by  Jeroboam, 
king  of  Israel.  1  Kings  13:2,  5,  33. 

IN  THE  RICH  young  man,  who  came  in- 
quiring to  Jesus  (Matt.  19:20),  we  see  the 
unrest  of  him  who  possesses  lofty  virtues 
without  spiritual  life. 
2* 


18  THINGS   TO   THINK    OF. 

ONE  REASON  why  the  early  Christians  of 
Jerusalem  had  all  things  common  was  the 
fact  that  most  of  them  were  mere  visitors 
waiting  God's  hour  of  dispersion. 

SUPPOSE  God  did  by  us,  as  he  says,  in 
Isa.  66 : 4,  men  had  done  by  him  ? 

THE  WICKED  know  not  the  light.  Job 
24:16,  17;  John  3:19,  20. 

IT  is  TESTIFIED  under  the  seal  of  a  four- 
fold amen  from  Christ  (John  3:  3,  5),  that 
there  must  be  a  new  birth  by  the  Spirit. 

A  CONTINUAL  languishment  under  the 
stupefying  power  of  a  carnal  mind,  we  are 
expressly  told  (Rom.  8:  6),  is  death. 

A  MERE  professor,  though  a  decent  one, 
looks  on.  the  Bible  as  a  dull  book. 

IN  SCRIPTURE,  a  thing  is  often  spoken  of 
as  done,  when  it  is  put  in  a  sure  way  of 
being  so. 

THE  BELIEVER  must  first  be  a  worshipper 
(Abel) :  then  a  walker  with  God  (Enoch) ; 
then  a  witness  for  God  (Noah). 

PROPHETIC  STUDY  has  its  peculiar  perils, 
because  it  is  so  fascinating  to  the  intellect. 
We  are  always  in  danger,  when  we  specu- 
late instead  of  worship. 


IN   BIBLE    READING.  19 

JESUS  took  the  blind  man  by  the  hand 
and  led  him  out  of  the  town.  Dwell  on 
the  contrast  that  appears  in  this  picture! 

WHY  DID  the  Lord  give  the  victory  over 
the  Midianites  to  the  particular  men  who 
lapped  water? 

DAVID  FELT  unworthy  of  God's  least  no- 
tice, yet  he  had  to  say:  "  Thou  hast  re- 
garded me  according  to  the  estate  of  a  man 
of  high  degree!" 

THE  TRIAL  of  some  of  Gideon's  men  at 
the  water  (Judges  7:4)  is  not  the  only 
instance  of  God's  people  being  "  tried  at 
the  water." 

"  BRING  an  offering,  and  come  before 
him."  The  former  is  also  a  part  of  wor- 
ship. 

IN  SCRIPTURE,  the  evidence  of  the  thing 
is  the  voice  of  the  speakers,  said  Augus- 
tine. 

"  GATHER  us  together."  1  Chron.  16: 
35.  God's  people  spontaneously  say  so. 

BICKERSTETH  states,  upon  careful  examin- 
ation, that  one  verse  in  thirty,  of  the  New 
Testament,  points  onward  to  the  resurrec- 
tion life. 


20  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

"  I  NEVER  knew  you."  Matt.  7:  23.  This 
will  be  said  to  false  professors.  They  were 
never  converted. 

AUGUSTINE  called  the  Psalms  of  David 
those  faithful  songs  and  sounds  of  devo- 
tion, which  allow  of  no  swelling  spirit. 

THE  BIBLE  is  more  reticent  concerning 
the  particulars  of  the  life  to  come  than 
most  men  wish.  Possibly  if  God  had  told 
us  more  we  should  be  unfitted  for  our 
present  duties. 

WHEN  SAMSON  found  honey,  he  gave  some 
to  his  father  and  mother  to  eat. 

THE  TERM  "seed"  in  Gal.  3: 16  (compare 
Gen.  17:  7)  is  interpreted  to  mean  Christ, 
being  singular  in  form  to  denote  his  indi- 
viduality, and  collective  in  force  to  sug- 
gest the  representative  character  of  his 
human  nature. 

THE  FOUR  RIVERS  of  Eden  rising  from  a 
common  source,  yet  flowing  in  different 
ways,  and  watering  the  whole  earth,  were 
regarded  by  the  church  fathers  as  types  of 
our  four  Gospels. 

LOVE  OF  BIBLE  TRUTH  is  a  product  of  the 
Holy  Spirit's  influence,  says  Dr.  Olmstead. 


IN    BIBLE    READING.  21 

DR.  HOVEY,  of  Newton,  says:  "  Without 
a  prominent  theological  element,  a  com- 
mentary is  almost  useless;  perhaps  we 
ought  to  go  further  and  say  that  it  is 
likely  to  do  more  harm  than  good,  by 
turning  attention  from  the  vital  truths  of 
the  record  to  the  antiquarian  and  secu- 
lar aspects  of  the  word  of  God." 

THE  HISTORY  of  the  Shunammite  woman's 
experience  with  Blisha  illustrates  the  profit 
of  kindness  to  God's  servants.  Kindness 
to  God's  people  may  not  of  itself  receive 
the  blessing  of  salvation,  but  it  is  sure  to 
bring  other  blessings,  and  it  is  often  an  in- 
dex of  an  incipient  faith  which  does  ob- 
tain salvation.  Notice  also  the  story  of 
Rahab,  and  that  of  the  centurion  of  Caper- 
naum. 

THE  CHURCH  FATHERS  were  wont  to  com- 
pare our  four  Gospels  to  the  four  living 
creatures  in  Ezekiel's  vision,  each  with  its 
own  face  looking  its  own  way,  yet  all  up- 
holding the  one  throne  of  God  and  ani- 
mate with  one  Spirit. 

THE  NECESSITY  of  knowledge  in  order  to 
spiritual  thrift  is  suggested  in  Hosea  4:6. 


22  THINGS   TO   THINK    OF. 

THE  GOSPEL  OF  MARK  has  been  called  the 
gospel  of  action,  designed  for  the  practi- 
cal Roman  mind.  The  writer  dwells  on 
the  deeds  more  than  the  sayings  of  our 
Lord,  even  omitting  the  sermon  on  the 
mount. 

FULL  OF  ADMONITION  is  the  scriptural 
reference  to  the  heathen  fisherman  who 
offered  incense  to  his  net  and  drag,  or  the 
mere  instruments  of  his  gain. 

A  CAREFUL  STUDY  of  the  early  verses  of 
the  sixth  chapter  of  Hebrews  brings  to 
light  the  important  lesson  that  not  to 
make  progress  as  a  Christian  is  most  dan- 
gerous; safety  lies  in  moving  on  to  per- 
fection. 

MISSIONARY  ASHMORE  says  there  is  not  a 
list  of  names  in  the  Bible  that  has  not  in 
it  something  instructive,  admonitory  and 
comforting.  The  gospel  genealogies  may 
be  bones ;  but  they  are  bones  full  of  mar- 
row. 

MURPHY,  the  pentateuch  commentator, 
tells  us  that  Sarah  is  the  only  woman 
whose  age  is  recorded  in  Scripture.  Gen. 
23:1. 


IN    BIBLE    READING.  23 

"  GIVE  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you/1 
Luke  6:  38.  Said  Richard  Baxter:  I  never 
knew  how  it  was.  but  I  always  seemed  to 
have  the  most  come  in,  when  I  gave  the 
most  away. 

A  PLAYFUL  WRITER  says  the  only  instance 
he  knows  of,  where  persistent  blowing 
ever  resulted  in  lasting  success,  was  at 
the  attack  upon  Jericho.  Jos.  6: 12-21. 

A  COMPARISON  of  Rev.  7:4  with  14:1 
brings  to  light  the  fact  that  every  one 
whom  God  seals  he  finally  saves.  Not  one 
is  lost.  Whom  God  calls,  them  he  justi- 
fies; and  whom  he  justifies,  them  he  also 
glorifies. 

"  CASTING  all  your  care  upon  him."  1 
Pet  5:7.  This  is  not  to  have  no  care;  but 
to  have  it,  and  then  at  once  commit  it  to 
Christ. 

REFERRING  to  Rev.  13: 10,  and  14: 12,  we 
may  conclude  that  the  whole  of  religion 
does  not  consist  in  activity. 

THE  PERSECUTIONS  ensuing  upon  David's 
acts  of  heroism  for  Saul,  are  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  penalties  of  distinction  and 
success. 


24  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

JOSHUA,  when  parting  from  the  people, 
warned  them  not  only  against  serving 
heathen  gods,  but  against  ever  speaking 
their  names. 

IN  HIS  LATE  WORK  on  Ezekiel  and  Daniel, 
Dr.  Cowles  holds  that  neither  in  the  last 
nine  chapters  of  Ezekiel,  nor  in  the  thirty- 
seventh,  does  the  prophet,  when  rightly 
interpreted,  teach  a  literal  restoration  of 
the  Jews  to  Palestine.  The  method  of  in- 
terpretation which  would  make  the  prophet 
teach  this,  he  says,  would,  if  consistently 
carried  out,  bring  back  again  the  whole 
Jewish  system  of  carnal  ordinances  to  sup- 
plant the  more  spiritual  dispensation  which 
was  introduced  by  the  Messiah's  advent. 
The  true  restoration  of  the  Jews,  we  main- 
tain, is  their  coming  to  Christ;  their  return 
to  Jerusalem  is  their  movement  towards 
the  Zion  of  grace,  the  Jerusalem  that  is 
from  above.  Those  prophecies  which  ap- 
pear to  promise  a  literal  restoration  of  the 
Jews,  the  apostles  have  taught  us  by  their 
own  method  to  apply  to  Christ  and  the 
"  Israel  indeed/'  Evidently  Abraham's 
land  of  expectation  was  the  city  that 


IN   BIBLE    READING.  25 

hath  foundations.  Heb.  11:10.  Besides, 
if  the  Jews  are  to  be  restored  as  a  nation, 
then  Moab  and  adjacent  heathen  peoples 
are  to  be  set  up  again  about  them,  on  the 
exclusively  literal  principle. 

NABOTH  also  (1  Kings  21:13)  was  a 
type  of  Christ. 

I  KNOW  the  Bible  is  inspired,  said  Cole- 
ridge, because  it  finds  me  at  greater  depths 
of  my  being  than  any  other  book. 

THE  SKEPTIC  Hume  owned  that  he  never 
read  the  New  Testament  with  attention- 
Most  deists  are  ignoramuses  as  to  the  Bible. 
Nelson,  long  a  leading  infidel,  gives  similar 
testimony. 

How  SENSITIVE  Moses  was  to  God's  dis- 
pleasure! Deut.  9:  19. 

THE  VERY  INJUNCTION  Paul  made  upon 
Timothy  to  use  a  little  wine  for  his  sick- 
ness, shows  that  the  latter  was  habitually 
temperate  and  even  abstemious;  and  it 
is  also  implied  that  the  apostle  approved 
of  his  general  principle  of  abstinence, 
1  Tim.  5:23. 

JER.  2:25  is  a  good  text  to  convince  of 
sin. 


26  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

GESENIUS  CLAIMS  that  the  word  "  ran/'  in 
Hab.  2:2,  expresses  not  a  movement  of 
the  body,  but  the  act  of  reading  fluently. 

THE  ACTUAL  application  of  the  wide 
atonement  for  sin  mentioned  in  1  John 
2:2,  is  limited  in  the  ninth  verse  of  the 
preceding  chapter  to  those  who  repent. 

"  LIGHT  is  sown  for  the  righteous."  Ps. 
97: 11.  Hence  let  them  wait  patiently  for 
it  to  spring  up.  James  5:7;  Lam.  3:26. 
See  Owen  on  Forgiveness,  p.  288. 

TROUBLE  leads  to  prayer;  prayer  to  de- 
liverance; and  deliverance  to  God's  glory. 
Ps.  50:15. 

LIDDON  regards  Gen.  9:26  as  Messianic. 
Also  2  Sam.  7:19.  Also  Zech.  13:7. 

FOR  A  BEAUTIFUL  poem  setting  forth  the 
spirit  of  Gen.  22:14,  "In  the  mount  of 
the  Lord  it  shall  be  seen,"  see  Sunday 
Magazine,  September,  1870. 

IN  JUDGES  6 :  22-24  is  the  anxious  awak- 
ing; the  voice  of  peace;  the  grateful  re- 
membrance. 

COMPARE  Matt.  8:  34  and  Ps.  105:  38. 

COMPARE  Phil.  1 :  6  and  Ps.  138:  8. 

COMPARE  Isa.  54: 17  and  1  Kings  13:  4. 


IN   BIBLE   READING.  27 

WE  CANNOT  purge  away  our  iniquity. 
None  of  our  works,  vows,  or  tears  can  do 
it.  Jer.  2:22.  Compare  Hos..  5: 13.  Both 
passages  declare  the  natural  effort  of  legal- 
ity in  genuine  conviction  of  sin. 

u  UPON  ONE  STONE  shall  be  seven  eyes/' 
Zech.  3:9.  Filled  with  an  absolute  per- 
fection of  all  the  gifts  and  graces  of  the 
Spirit,  said  John  Owen. 

GOING  FORTH  into  gospel  liberty  is  the 
basis  of  Christian  growth.  Last  two  clauses 
of  Mai.  4:2. 

SIMEON  and  Anna  illustrate  Matt;  5:8. 

THE  THREE  MEASURES  of  meal  in  Matt. 
13:  33  are  body,  soul,  and  spirit,  says  Ols- 
hausen;  the  three  sons  of  Noah,  says 
Stier! 

THE  SKEPTIC  BAYLE  called  Matt.  23:12 
an  abridgement  of  all  human  history. 

LIKE  the  magnetic  needle,  Peter  only 
wavers.  Matt.  26:75. 

DOES  NOT  Mark  2 :  9  imply  that  the  mira- 
cle-power belongs  to  God  ? 

HATE,  in  Luke  14:26,  Rom.  9:13,  and 
in  some  other  biblical  passages,  means  to 
love  less,  says  John  Hall. 


28  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

JESUS  OWNED  no  place,  not  even  his  tomb. 
Luke  9:58. 

ALFORD  says  the  story  of  the  two  trav- 
ellers to  Emmaus  is  the  most  beautiful  of 
all  narrated  incidents. 

"  GRACE  for  grace."  John  1 : 16.  Graces 
in  us  answering  to  every  grace  in  Christ, 
said  Edwards. 

COMPARE  John  1 :  39  and  1  Kings  10. 

"THE  WIND  bloweth  where  it  listeth." 
John  3 : 8.  Not  being  at  all  at  our  dis- 
posal, said  Owen. 

STUDY  the  scene  at  the  raising  of  Laza- 
rus, and  that  at  the  raising  of  Tabitha,  to 
learn  something  of  our  work  in  the  con- 
version of  a  sinner. 

"DRINKETH  my  blood  hath  eternal  life." 
John  6:54.  "  The  life  of  the  flesh  is  in 
the  blood.",  Lev.  17:11. 

COMPARE  John  7:39  and  Ps.  104: 16. 

ACTS  3: 19.  The  convert's  sins  are  blot- 
ted out  now.  That  state  is  preserved 
against  the  great  day. 

"TEMPT  the  Spirit."  Acts  5:9.  Pre- 
suming in  regard  to  the  Spirit's  omnis- 
cience, or  his  holiness. 


IN   BIBLE   READING.  29 

SEEING  is  put  in  a  suggestive  relation  to 
believing  in  John  6 :  40. 

IN  ACTS  13:  38,  39,  pardon  and  justifica- 
tion are  somewhat  distinguished. 

COMPARE  Rom.  8:16,  1  John  5:10,  and 
Rev.  2: 17,  on  the  witness  of  the  Spirit. 

COMPARE  1  Cor.  2 : 14  and  Ps.  119 : 18,  on 
spiritual  discernment. 

THE  NATURAL  man  is  one  who  has  not  the 
Spirit.  1  Cor.  2:14.  Compare  1  Cor. 
15:  44  and  Jude  19. 

THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  is  more  for  us  than 
it  was  for  the  Old  Testament  people. 
1  Pet.  1:12;  1  Cor.  10:11;  Rom.  15:4. 

LIDDON  pronounces  1  Cor.  16:22  the  ab- 
solute criterion  of  moral  ruin. 

"  APPEAR."  2  Cor.  5:10.  Be  manifested, 
laid  bare. 

"  THEIR  own  salvation."  Phil.  2:12. 
Their  own  already. 

NEITHER  in  giving  Cornelius  the  gospel, 
nor  in  the  exit  of  Peter  from  Herod's 
prison,  did  the  angel  go  so  far  as  to  do 
anything  of  man's  proper  work. 

HUMAN  VIRTUES  need  spiritual  cleansing. 
Tit.  1:15. 


30  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

IN  1  TIM.  3: 15,  Howson  makes  Timothy, 
not  the  shurch,  the  pillar  and  ground  of 
the  truth.  And  in  Bph.  2:20,  he  makes 
the  "  foundation"  to  be  Jesus  Christ, 
which  apostles  have  been  concerned  about. 
"  Wives,"  in  1  Tim.  3:11,  he  says  means 
women-deacons. 

THE  OPERATION  of  the  word  in  Heb.  4: 
12  should  be  studied  with  the  help  of  Jer. 
23:29;  Ps.  45:5;  Zeph.  1:12;  Acts  2:37; 
Luke  24:32. 

A  MEANS  of  winning  unconverted  hus- 
bands to  Christ:  1  Pet.  3:1. 

"  WHETHER  in  the  body  or  out  of  the 
body  I  cannot  tell."  2  Cor.  12:2,  3. 
This  passage  in  its  connection  proves  the 
possibility  of  a  conscious  personal  exist- 
ence in  separation  from  the  body. 

THE  WAY  in  which  the  awakened  sinner 
gropes  for  the  light  is  well  described  in 
Eccl.  10:15. 

JER.  4: 14  is  equivalent  to  the  gospel  call 
to  repentance. 

FOR  A  SUGGESTION  on  the  nature  of  gos- 
pel belief,  see  John  5:46.  The  Jews 
thought  they  believed  Moses,  and  in  one 


IN    BIBLE    READING.  31 

sense  they  did ;  but  what  does  Christ  say  ? 

SOME  good  language  for  repentance  and 
confession  is  in  Jer.  3:21 :  25. 

ELISHA  received  his  great  gift  by  look- 
ing. 2  Kings  2:10. 

THERE  SEEMS  to  be  more  moral  philoso- 
phy in  the  book  of  Jeremiah,  than  in  any 
other  book  of  the  Old  Testament,  save 
perhaps  that  of  Proverbs. 

HANNAH  rejoiced  in  the  Lord  (1  Sam.  2: 
1),  more  than  in  that  which  he  had  given 
her.  • 

IT  is  WITH  the  temple  above,  as  it  was 
with  Solomon's  temple  (1  Kings  6:  7).  It 
is  u  built  of  stone  made  ready  before  it  is 
brought  thither." 

THE  PETITION  in  Matt.  6:13  is  not  fully 
answered  till  the  saint  leaves  this  world. 

IN  THE  ORDINANCES,  Christ  "showeth  him- 
self through  the  lattice."  Cant.  2:  9. 

How  PLEASANT  the  discovery  of  truth; 
but  most  of  all  in  the  Bible,  by  help  of 
the  Spirit! 


PART    II. 

IN   THEOLOGY. 

JUSTIFICATION  by  faith  is  the  only  spring 
of  evangelical  holiness. 

WITH  THE  LOSS  of  a  single  believer,  down 
ebmes  God's  character,  and  all  the  universe 
rushes  into  confusion. 

THE  SINNER  is  justified  by  faith,  and  faith 
is  justified  by  works. 

THE  SEAL  of  the  Spirit  (Eph.  4:30)  is 
not  so  much  an  effect  of  the  Spirit  as  it  is 
the  Spirit  himself  in  the  heart. 

BELIEVING  on  the  Son  of  God  is  the 
principal  thing  in  religion. 

REPENTANCE  is  the  sorrow  of  love. 

THE  RESURRECTION  body  of  the  righteous 
is  called  a  spiritual  body,  because  it  is 
quickened  and  animated  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  because  it  is  fitted  to  all  the 
demands  and  possibilities  of  a  regenerate 
soul. 

IT  is  SAID  by  Paul  that  the  called  are  pre- 
destinated to  be  conformed  to  the  image 


IN   THEOLOGY.  33 

of  God's  Son.  Boston  declares  in  his 
41  Crook  in  the  Lot"  that  this  image  is  that 
of  suffering  and  holiness,  wherein  lowli- 
ness is  a  chief  part. 

REPENTANCE  is  the  sharp  surgery  of  God's 
Spirit. 

SOME  Bible  doctrines  are  beyond  our  ex- 
perience, and  some  are  beyond  our  com- 
prehension. 

MANY  of  the  speculations  of  adventism 
rise  and  flourish  because  of  a  naturally 
morbid  craving  in  human  nature  to  read 
the  future. 

THE  PECULIARITY  of  Calvinism  is  its  em- 
phasis of  divine  sovereignty. 

PICTURE  to  thyself  a  Jew  taking  up  to  the 
old  temple  an  innocent  lamb  on  which 
poor  thing  he  is  about  to  lay  his  sins! 

MIRACLES  were  proofs  of  our  Lord's 
divine  commission,  symbols  of  spiritual 
truth,  and  trophies  of  power  over  Satan. 
See  Matt.  12:  29  on  the  last  point. 

CONCERNING     prophecy,      Henry      Ward 

Beecher   has  justly  said:  There  are   cases 

not  a  few  in   which   the   language   spoken 

with  reference  to   one   event  serves  as  a 

3 


34  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

perspective  tube,  or  telescope,  through 
which  we  view  another  event  of  similar 
quality  but  vaster  dimensions. 

THE  IDEA  of  the  salvation  of  every  body 
is  forbidden  by  the  wall  great  and  high  de- 
fining heaven. 

""  I  WILL  be  surety  for  him."  said  Judah 
to  Jacob  concerning  Benjamin. 

AN  evangelical  commentator  (Macintosh) 

-says:  Regeneration  is  not  a  change  of  the 

old  nature,  but  the  introduction  of  a  new. 

IN  THE  NINTH  of  Romans,  the  word  of 
God  as  clearly  establishes  election,  as  it 
seduously  guards  against  reprobation.  Sin- 
ners choose  their  own  way,  and  God 
chooses  his  people. 

IN  SALVATION  we  uncover  sin,  and  God 
hides  it.  Psalm  32:1-5. 

WHAT  is  the  evidence  that  Adam  and 
Eve  were  redeemed  and  saved  ? 

No  MAN  can  call  Jesus  Lord  but  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  because  that  is  to  worship 
him. 

FAITH  is  the  root  of  love. 

FAITH  is  a  little  pivot;  but  even  God's 
righteousness  turns  on  it. 


IN   THEOLOGY.  35 

ONE  should  trace  the  proofs  of  the 
Christian  religion,  not  as  a  curious  specta- 
tor, but  as  an  heir  finding  the  deeds  and 
evidences  of  his  estate. 

WHAT  is  the  office  of  the  Spirit  in  our 
access  to  the  Father,  referred  to  in  Eph. 
2:18? 

SOME  theologians  prefer  to  call  the  attri- 
butes of  God,  his  perfections. 

You  MAY  depend  upon  it,  says  Spurgeon, 
that  all  the  best  philosophy  in  the  world 
is  to  be  found  in  the  old  Calvinistic  doc- 
trine. 

THE  UNPRECEDENTED  philanthropy  shown 
by  apostles  and  primitive  disciples  is  one 
proof  of  the  divinity  of  Christianity. 

THE  DEITY  of  Christ  is  taught  when  he 
is  declared  to  be  the  one  who  baptizes  in 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

TRUE  Christians  will  outgrow  the  difficul- 
ties of  doctrine  which  may  now  be  trying 
their  faith.  Many  come  even  to  rejoice  in 
divine  statements,  which  they  felt  angry 
over  once. 

PAUL  did  not  teach  the  doctrine  of  a 
conditional  election;  for  that  would  not  be 


36  THINGS   TO    THINK   OF. 

an  eternal  election;  and  it  would  be  the 
election  of  one  as  much  as  another.  No ; 
the  reasons  of  God's  election  of  any  are  hid 
in  the  counsel  of  his  own  will  and  do  not 
lie  in  any  act  or  character  of  man  that  we 
know  anything  about. 

IT  is  doubtless  impossible  for  a  sinless 
man  to  come  into  a  sinful  world  without 
suffering. 

IF  THE  MESSIAH  is  the  great  promise  of 
the  Old  Testament,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the 
great  promise  of  the  New. 

THE  TERM  "total,"  in  relation  to  human 
depravity,  does  not  express  its  intensity, 
but  only  its  extensiveness,  its  being  every- 
where in  the  moral  nature. 

DR.  SHEDD'S  good  definition  of  the  atone- 
ment is:  The  satisfaction  of  divine  justice 
for  the  sin  of  man,  by  the  substituted 
penal  sufferings  of  the  Son  of  God. 

As  THE  Old  Testament  types  reveal  their 
spiritual  lessons  under  the  light  of  Chris- 
tianity, so  it  is  with  nature. 

WHAT  is  the  Spirit's  part  in  justification, 
mentioned  in  1  Cor.  6:11? 

THE  MORAL  law  is  superseded  as  a  cove- 


IN    THEOLOGY.  37 

nant  of  works.  Yet  we  are  under  obliga- 
tion to  keep  it.  It  is  evermore  an  outline 
of  duty.  The  Saviour  taught  this  when  he 
summarized  it  in  two  brief  parts  for  men. 

IN  CHRIST  was  first  Abrahamic  and  sec- 
ond universal  humanity. 

MADE  in   God's  image,  every  man    also 
has  in  his  mind  some    image   or  idea    of. 
God. 

SIN  AND  DEATH  of  themselves  give  the  lie 
to  a  religion  that  is  not  radical  and  mirac- 
ulous. 

DR.  JOHN  DUNCAN,  of  Scotland,  defined 
death  to  be  the  severance  of  things  once 
united  and  meant  to  remain  united,  as  God 
and  the  soul,  soul  and  the  body. 

THE  ARMINIAN  theology  makes  the  re- 
ward of  Christ's  agony  contingent. 

HE  WHO  thinks  he  has  power  to  turn  to 
God  at  any  time  is  not  likely  to  be  in  a 
hurry  about  it. 

INFIDELITY  continually  changes  its  ground 
— in  a  circle. 

FAITH  is  the  appropriating  act  in  relation 
to  God's  grace. 

THE  CONSCIENCE  of  man  demands  justice. 


38  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

Therefore  the  penitent  sinner  can  not  be 
satisfied  till  he  sees  his  punishment  some- 
where. 

REPENTANCE  involves  exposure  of  sin, 
and  hence  shame.  Jer.  2:26.  Shame,  then, 
belongs  to  repentance. 

DOCTRINE  disobeyed  hardens  the  heart, 
and  then  the  heart  perverts  the  doctrine. 

IF  THE  lost  have  the  way  that  they  best 
like,  what  fault  can  they  find  ? 

MODERN  millenarians  correspond  to  the 
ancient  chiliasts,  and  the  doctrine  of  either 
is  a  modified  Judaism. 

IT  is  JUSTIFICATION,  and  not  mere  pardon, 
which  satisfies  the  soul  of  the  penitent. 

THE  SALVATION  of  the  believer  is  wound 
up  with  all  the  attributes  and  purposes  of 
the  Deity. 

PROPHECY  also  is  a  miracle. 

IT  is  the  Christian  religion  which  first 
taught  that  man  is  born  in  sin,  said  Pascal. 

WHY  did  Stephen  meet  his  terrible  mar- 
tyr death  with  less  of  shrinking  than 
Jesus  did  his  ? 

THE  HISTORY  of  the  ancient  Jewish  people 
is  a  parable  of  Christianity. 


IN    THEOLOGY.  39 

THE  DOCTRINE  of  a  general  judgment  gives 
vigor  to  every  part  of  the  Christian  sys- 
tem. 

CHRISTIANITY'S  scope  is  mainly  the  cor- 
ruption of  nature  and  the  redemption  of 
Christ. 

IN  THE  CREATION  of  man,  there  was  some- 
thing imparted  to  him  from  the  immortal 
God  himself,  which  was  not  given  to  other 
earthly  creatures.  Gen.  2:6.  The  distinc- 
tion of  soul  and  body  in  man  is  shown  in 
the  peculiarity  of  his  very  creation. 

Now  THAT  Christ  has  borne  the  wrath  of 
God,  the  only  obstacle  to  salvation  is  in 
the  sinner  himself. 

A  RIGHT  view  of  the  nature  of  God  will 
cause  one  to  accept  every  part  of  the  gos- 
pel scheme. 

THE  GOSPEL  is  not  alone  a  sermon  to  per- 
suade men,  but  a  creative  power  to  change 
them.  It  is  attended  not  with  a  moral  in- 
fluence only,  but  with  a  supernatural  in- 
fluence. 

THE  GOD  to  whom  salvation  belongeth, 
hath  himself  fixed  the  methods  of  it. 

IN  CHRIST,  there  are  two   natures  and 


40  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

one  person;  in  the  Godhead,  there  are 
three  persons  and  one  nature;  and  great  is 
the  mystery  thereof. 

IN  HIS  PROMISES,  God  reveals  himself  as 
the  eternal  spring  of  goodness  and  power. 

IF  ANY  are  lost,  the  reason  is  not  in  God, 
but  in  themselves.  If  any  are  saved,  the 
reason  is  not  in  themselves,  but  in  God. 

GOD  HAS  MADE  the  new  covenant  not  di- 
rectly with  us,  but  with  Christ  as  our 
head  and  representative;  and  we  get  into 
the  benefit  of  the  covenant  by  getting  into 
Christ. 

MEN  IN  GENERAL  concern  themselves  very 
little  with  any  terms  of  salvation  that  God 
has  made  known,  yet  there  is  no  hope  of 
a  man  till  he  wants  to  know  what  God's 
method  is. 

To  BE  JUSTIFIED  by  faith  is  to  be  justified 
by  Christ's  righteousness  appropriated  by 
faith. 

MERCY  to  the  penitent  is  the  reward  of 
merit  in  Christ. 

As  THE  BODY  without  the  soul  is  dead, 
so  the  soul  without  the  Holy  Ghost  is 
dead. 


think  ye  of  Christ  ?"  is  the 
touchstone  of  theology  as  it  is  of  all  reli- 
gious experience. 

CONVERSIONS  may  be  expected  to  take 
place  more  frequently  among  an  indoc- 
trinated, than  among  an  unindoctrinated 
population.  For  God  is  partial  to  his 
word,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  takes  most  read- 
ily to  the  path  of  the  truth. 

IT  is  the  superadded  agency  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  which  makes  divine  truth 
piercing. 

BETTER  STATEMENTS  of  the  doctrines  of 
sin  and  atonement  have  not  been  made 
than  Dante  lays  down  in  the  seventh  chap- 
ter of  the  "  Paradise,"  says  Dr.  Shedd. 

PRAYER  moves  God.  He  eternally  pur- 
posed that  he  would  be  so  moved.  Thus 
is  he  a  prayer-answering  God,  and  an  un- 
changeable God  at  the  same  time. 

DR.  NEWMAN'S  u  Essay  in  Aid  of  the 
Grammar  of  Assent "  happily  sets  forth 
the  nature  of  religious  faith  as  a  direct  ap- 
prehension of  its  object  rather  than  an  ac- 
ceptance of  mere  opinions  about  it. 

A  DISTINCTION  subsists  between  pardon 
3* 


42  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

and  justification.  For  God  as  well  as  the 
believer  are  justified;  but  both  are  not 
pardoned. 

IT  is  NOT  quite  certain  that  Booth  was 
right  in  saying,  u  It  is  not  faith  itself,  but 
its  glorious  object,  which  Paul  intends, 
when  he  speaks  of  faith  being  imputed  for 
righteousness." 

THE  GOD  you  cannot  trust,  you  cannot 
worship. 

THE  condition  of  our  acceptance  with 
God  is  a  perfect  righteousness.  But  whose? 
The  very  genius  of  the  gospel  is  involved 
in  the  answer. 

IT  is  NOT  bare  mercy,  but  propitiated 
mercy,  which  God  proffers  to  sinners. 

HAVE  YOU  YET  had  a  discovery  of  God's 
justice  ? 

FIRE,  air,  oil,  and  water,  are  each  scrip- 
tural symbols  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  What 
an  honored  use  of  nature's  elements! 

SUPPOSE  a  certain  doctrine  does  not  sat- 
isfy my  reason,  or  fall  in  with  my  preju- 
dice, or  meet  my  wishes,  or  answer  to  my 
early  education,  am  I  to  discard  it  on  any 
such  account  if  I  find  it  fairly  in  the 


IN   THEOLOGY.  43 

Bible  ?     God  says  his  thoughts  are  not  as 
our  thoughts. 

THE  MORE  we  contemplate  God's  sover- 
eignty in  our  salvation,  and  his  infinite- 
justice  in  regard  to  sinners,  the  more  im- 
movable Christians  we  become.  More  of 
this  is  the  need  of  the  hour. 

A  REMEMBERED  atonement  will  diffuse  the 
sweetest  savor  at  the  coming  marriage  sup- 
per of  the  Lamb. 

NOTHING  is  more  plainly  taught  in  the 
Bible  than  the  personality  of  the  devil. 

SAYS  Dr.  Peabody,  ol  Harvard:  ''Jesus 
is  a  class  by  himself,  the  most  potent  char- 
acter in  history ....  With  miracles  Chris- 
tianity stands  or  falls." 

REPENTANCE  is  not  only  sorrow  for  past 
sins,  but  separation  from  present  sins. 

THE  GOODNESS  of  God,  says  Owen,  is  the 
suitableness  of  the  Divine  Being  to  be  com- 
municative of  itself  in  its  effects. 

JOHN  HAD  LEANED  on  Jesus'  bosom  in  the 
intimate  familiarity  of  love;  but  when  he 
saw  his  glory,  he  fell  at  his  feet  as  dead. 
John  13:23;  Rev.  1:17.  It  was  necessary 
that  Christ's  glory  should  be  veiled,  while 


44  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

he  was  with  men  on  earth.  If  he  should 
reign  in  visible  person  on  earth  before  the 
judgment,  he  would  need  to  leave  behind 
again  his  glory,  which  is  improbable. 

THE  BLESSEDNESS  of  God,  says  Owen,  con- 
sists m  the  ineffable  mutual  in-being  of  the 
three  holy  persons  in  the  same  nature, 
with  the  immanent  reciprocal  actings  of 
the  Father  and  the  Son  in  the  eternal  love 
and  complacency  of  the  Spirit. 

GOD  is  SAID  to  harden  the  heart,  says 
Salter,  when  he  withholds  restraining  grace 
— to  harden  when  he  does  not  soften.  He 
is  said  to  make  blind  when  he  does  not 
lighten,  as  darkness  follows  the  removal  of 
the  sun.  May  it  not,  too,  be  said  that  he 
hates  when  he  does  not  love  ? 

IT  is  NOT  SAID,  he  that  feeleth  shall  be 
saved,  but  he  that  believeth.  Faith  first, 
feeling  second. 

ONLY  AT  THE  HOUR  of  death  is  the  top- 
stone  put  upon  the  work  of  sanctification. 
Mark  4:29. 

As  A  KEY  fits  into  the  wards  of  its  lock, 
so  do  the  provisions  of  the  new  covenant 
fit  into  all  the  intricacies  of  man's  case. 


IN   THEOLOGY.  45 

GOD  NEVER  made  a  mistake. 

You  MUST  NOT  trust  even  repentance  or 
faith  to  save.  Christ  only  must  be  trusted 
for  that. 

IF  WHITEFIELD  and  Wesley  could  be  in 
fellowship,  why  may  not  the  Calvinist  and 
Arminian  now  ? 

ANY  DULL  OBJECT,  beheld  through  crim- 
son glass,  glows  in  the  light  of  that  sub- 
stance. So  is  it  with  the  believer  as  God 
views  him  through  his  Son. 

THAT  ANGELS  attend  saints  just  departing 
out  of  this  world  may  be  fairly  inferred 
from  the  Bible. 

No  ONE  could  dislike  pain  so  much  as 
the  Saviour. 

EVANGELICAL  RELIGION  makes  a  sharp 
distinction  between  the  regenerate  and  the 
unregenerate. 

ALL  THAT  CHRIST  did  was  done  as  the 
head  of  believers. 

CONVERSION  is  a  change  from  legality 
and  slavery  to  filial  confidence. 

THE  LAW  OF  GOD  gives  us  a  knowledge  of 
our  sin,  and  condemns  it,  but  cannot  help 
us  out  of  it. 


46  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

• 

THE  LORD  JESUS  is  the  centre  of  Chris- 
tian unity. 

ALL  THAT  CHRIST  did  on  earth  had  the 
one  root  obedience,  in  which  alone  any  son 
is  free. 

JESUS  is  the  Saviour  of  conscious  sinners. 

THERE  ARE  vincible  operations  of  the 
Spirit. 

EFFECTUAL  CALLING  includes  regenera- 
tion. 

IN  POINT  of  evil,  there  was  none  prior  to 
the  devil. 

A  SOUL  is  the  haunt  of  devils  or  the  tem- 
ple of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

THE  WITHHOLDING  of  God's  Spirit  was  a 
main  part  of  man's  original  curse. 

JUSTIFICATION  is  not  merely  not  punish- 
ing, it  is  pronouncing  unpunishable. 

REPENTANCE  includes  faith ,  since,  with  the 
rest,  it  is  a  turning  from  the  sin  of  unbe- 
lief. 

THE  ULTIMATE  end  of  Christ's  work  was 
not  the  salvation  of  men,  but  the  glory  of 
God. 

THE  WORKING  of  the  devil  in  the  children 
of  disobedience,  mentioned  in  Ephesians 


IN    THEOLOGY.  47 

2:2,  is  u  by  an  efficacious  energy/'  said 
John  Howe. 

SOME  of  the  so-called  hard  doctrines  of 
the  Bible  are  designed  to  try  and  test  and 
elicit  faith,  like  painful  afflictions. 

GOD'S  WAY  of  salvation  is  hearing,  believ- 
ing, having  (John  5:24),  not  doing,  hop- 
ing, or  feeling.  Conviction  is  a  discov- 
ered sinner;  conversion,  a  discovered  Sav- 
iour. 

THE  BEST  EVIDENCE  of  Christianity  is  a 
live  Christian. 

EVERY  ONE  TRUTH  is  connected  with  every 
other  in  the  universe  of  God. 

IF  CHRIST  commands  a  thing  that  is  rea- 
son enough  of  itself  for  doing  it. 

SAVING  FAITH  is  confidence  in  a  per- 
son. 

THE  SKEPTIC  concedes  the  peculiar  holi- 
ness of  Christianity,  in  requiring  of  its  pro- 
fessor a  purity  that  he  does  not  think  of 
exacting  from  the  professor  of  any  other 
religion. 

A  CLEVER  DEACON  has  said:  Old  divinity 
sends  the  prodigal  son  home  in  rags  and 
utter  poverty;  new  divinity  brings  him 


48  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

back  with  money  enough  to  pay  his  ex- 
penses. 

UNITARIANISM,  notwithstanding  its  often 
amiable  and  generous  humanitarianism,  is 
after  all  essentially  deistic. 

CHRIST'S  LOVE  to  us  not  only  precedes, 
but  produces,  ours  to  him. 

THE  BELIEVER  is  justified  by  his  indentifi- 
cation  with  Christ. 

GOD  is  u  patiens  quia  aeternus,"  said 
Augustine. 

CREEDS  EXIST  wherever  there  is  religious 
belief.  If  we  believe,  we  believe  some- 
thing. That  something  can  be  stated ;  and 
the  statement,  written  or  unwritten,  is  a 
creed. 

DURING  THE  FIRST  three  centuries,  the 
main  attacks  upon  our  Lord's  deity  were 
of  Jewish  origin ;  and  yet,  as  Liddon  saj^s, 
nothing  is  plainer  than  that  the  ancient 
Jews  believed  the  expected  Messiah  would 
be  divine. 

THE  TEACHING  of  John  the  Baptist  cen- 
tred around  these  three  points,  says  the 
author  of  "  Our  Lord's  Divinity:"  (1)  The 
call  to  penitence;  (2)  the  relative  greatness 


IN   THEOLOGY.  49 

of  Christ;  and  (3)  his  judicial  and  atoning 
work.  This  author  probably  would  include 
what  John  had  to  say  of  the  baptism  of  the 
Spirit  under  the  second  of  these  heads. 

SAYS  LIDDON:  Jesus  nowhere  retracts,  or 
modifies,  or  acts,  or  speaks,  as  one  would 
who  feels  that  he  is  dependent  upon  events 
or  agencies  which  he  cannot  control. 

WHEN  the  elder  Brother's  raiment  is  put 
on  me,  said  Berridge,  good  Isaac  will  re- 
ceive and  bless  the  lying  varlet  Jacob. 

OLD  Henry  Scougal  shrewdly  said: 
Though  God  hath  not  tied  himself  to 
means,  yet  he  has  tied  us  to  the  use  of 
them ;  and  we  have  never  more  reason  to 
expect  the  divine  assistance  than  when  we 
are  doing  our  utmost  endeavors. 

MAY  NOT  Christ  be  a  daysman  between 
man  and  man,  as  well  as  between  man  and 
God? 

THE  SINLESSNESS  of  Jesus  may  be  proved 
by  his  word  in  John  13 :  30,  where  he  says 
the  devil  comes  and  has  nothing  in  him. 

THEOLOGIANS  distinguish  between  God's 
will  of  control  and  his  will  of  precept. 

AN  ILLUSTRATION  of  some  elements  in  the 


50  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

atonement  of  Christ  may  be  found  in  case 
of  Samuel  hewing  Agag  in  pieces,  which  he 
did  as  a  measure  of  Saul's  sin  of  disobe- 
dience, and  a  tribute  to  the  principle  of 
judicial  righteousness. 

THAT  THE  ENTIRE  public  career  of  Jesus 
Christ  was  one  of  temptation  seems  to  be 
implied  in  Luke  22:28. 

IN  HIS  SERMON  on  the  intermediate  state, 
Dr.  Nehemiah  Adams  very  properly  says 
that  the  idea  of  some  that  the  soul  cannot 
exist  separate  from  the  body  in  material- 
ism; and  to  graft  materialism  upon  Chris- 
tianity is  to  destroy  it. 

THE  GOSPEL  WAY  to  peace  is  also  the  way 
to  holiness. 

CERTAINTY  of  final  salvation  is  consistent 
with  danger  of  eternal  perdition.  To  be 
cautious  against  danger  may  be  the  very 
means  of  coming  out  safe  at  the  end. 
Acts  27:  24,  31. 

NOTWITHSTANDING  the  old  divines  had 
much  to  say  of  the  beatific  vision  of  God, 
Dr.  Talbot,  of  Granville,  thinks  he  will  be 
seen  even  in  heaven  by  immortal  eyes  only 
in  the  Son,  who  is  the  image  of  the  invisi- 


IN   THEOLOGY.  51 

ble  God.  But  may  not  heaven  afford  a  di- 
rect perception  of  God  the  Father  through 
the  light  of  the  Son  ? 

THE  LAW  of  the  fourth  commandment  by 
no  means  requires  the  keeping  of  the  sev- 
enth day  of  our  week,  but  a  seventh  day  that 
follows  six  days  of  labor,  and  this  law  we 
are  heeding  when  we  keep  the  Lord's  day. 
Here  is  the  matter  in  a  nutshell,  which 
may  relieve  some  of  the  perplexed. 

THE  DOCTRINE  of  the  final  perseverance  of 
the  saints  does  not  make  the  genuine  be- 
liever careless;  rather  it  strengthens  and 
stimulates  him. 

HERDER,  writer  of  the  "  Spirit  of  the 
Psalms/'  says  it  is  the  most  beautiful  mark 
of  the  excellency  of  a  doctrine  when  it  in- 
structs a  child ;  a  statement  that  needs  to 
be  taken  with  allowance. 

IN  EVERY  AGE  since  Christ,  there  have 
been  men  who  believed  the  current  events 
to  be  the  most  tremendous  that  can  ever 
occur,  and  hence  their  own  the  very  last 
period  of  history. 

WE  HAVE  NO  REASON  to  suppose  that  the 
appearance  of  Satan  is  much  different  from 


52  THINGS   TO    THINK   OF. 

what  it  was  at  first,  that  of  an  angel  of 
light.  His  fall  need  not  change  his  appear- 
ance, any  more  than  the  form  of  man  has 
been  changed  by  his  fall. 

DR.  SKINNER  maintained  that  neither  the 
humanity  nor  the  divinity  in  Christ's  na- 
ture, properly  speaking,  suffered,  but  the 
Ego  Christ.  In  all  cases  the  person,  not 
the  nature,  is  the  conscious  subject,  and 
the  God-man  is  but  a  single  person. 

THE  PATTERN  of  Solomon's  temple  is  suf- 
ficient of  itself  to  prove  the  fact  of  divine 
inspiration. 

A  WRITER  in  the  old  "  Christian  Re- 
view," vol.  X,  discussing  the  resurrection 
of  the  body,  suggests  that  a  very  minute 
portion  of  the  body,  so  subtle  as  to  elude 
human  cognizance,  may  be  all  that  is  nec- 
essary to  what  we  call  the  original  ele- 
ments. 

BOTH  Dr.  Hovey  in  his  work  on  the 
" State  of  the  Impenitent  Dead,"  and  the 
Duke  of  Argyll  in  his  "  Reign  of  Law," 
suggest  that  the  disembodied  soul  of  man 
may  not  be  destitute  of  form. 

SAID  MASON:     uThe  notion  of  free  grace 


IN   THEOLOGY.  53 

may  make  a  person  dissolute,  but  the 
sense  of  it  restrains  from  sin."  A  mere 
theory  of  God's  electing  love  may  leave  a 
man  careless  and  presumptuous ;  but  a  feel- 
ing of  it  animates  the  soul  to  holiness. 

JAMES  RUSSEL  LOWELLL,  the  Harvard  pro- 
fessor, seems  unconsciously  to  state  the 
necessity  of  an  objective  revelation  in  the 
following  words:  All  men  who  know  not 
where  to  look  for  truth  save  in  the  narrow 
well  of  self,  will  find  their  own  image  at 
the  bottom,  and  mistake  it  for  what  they 
are  seeking. 

I  AM  SUSPICIOUS  of  a  theological  system 
which  is  too  complete  and  compact,  says 
Dr.  A.  N.  Arnold.  Our  earthly  logic,  he 
says,  may  be  inconsistent  with  God's 
larger  truth.  1  Cor.  13:12. 

CHRIST  is  paraclete  with  God  (1  John 
2:1);  the  Holy  Spirit  is  paraclete  with  men 
(John  14:16). 

EVEN  A  PERFECT  humanity  cannot  call 
forth  from  us  a  true  worship  such  as  we 
pay  to  God ;  although  Spofford  Brooke  has 
asserted  a  very  different  view  in  a  late  work 
of  his. 


54  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

THE  SINLESSNESS  of  Jesus  was  declared 
from  the  first.  Luke  1 :  35. 

ALL  THINGS  were  created  for  Christ,  in 
one  way  by  serving  as  figures  of  his  spirit- 
ual truth. 

DR.  HOVEY  says  truly  that  an  impartial 
history  of  the  Christian  religion  would 
show,  beyond  question,  that  the  doctrine 
of  a  vicarious  atonement,  ratifying  the 
claims  of  justice,  has  been  more  effectual 
than  any  other  view  of  the  Saviour's  death 
in  convincing  men  of  sin  and  leading  them 
to  him. 

SAYS  DR.  W.  R.  WILLIAMS:  The  Bible 
defies  logic,  in  our  narrow  western  sense 
of  that  word.  Of  a  perfect  logic,  where 
the  relations  of  all  truths  are  sten  fully 
and  stated  harmoniously,  a  finite  race  is 
probably  incapable. 

As  FOR  PERFECTION  or  completeness  in 
divinity,  said  Lord  Bacon,  it  is  not  to  be 
sought.  In  divinity  many  things  must  be 
left  abrupt.  0  the  depth  of  the  wisdom 
and  the  knowledge  of  God! 


PART    III. 

IN   THEOLOGY— SIN   AND   ITS  PUN- 
ISHMENT. 

NOTHING  is  really  terrible  but  the  wrath 
of  God. 

THE  MORE  we  understand  the  sinfulness 
of  sin,  the  higher  will  be  our  estimate  of 
the  work  of  the  cross. 

THE  CULMINATING  sin  of  the  Jews  was 
the  rejection  of  the  Son  of  God.  Matt. 
21:37—41.  The  great  sin  of  men  this  day 
is  the  same. 

A  GREAT  want  of  the  age  is  a  real  per- 
suasion of  the  punitive  judgment  of  God, 
said  John  Milne. 

CANNOT  the  adventist  see  that  his  doc- 
trine of  the  extinction  of  the  wicked  makes 
the  atonement  comparatively  little  ? 

INCORRIGIBLE  sinners  are  left  to  the  free- 
dom of  their  own  wills. 

THE  PUNISHMENT  of  sin  is  the  vindication 
of  law  and  a  necessity  of  God's  nature. 

CIRCUMSTANCES  sometimes    bring   out  an 


56  THINGS   TO   THINK    OF. 

unsuspected  state  of  the  heart.  The  case 
of  Saul  in  the  Old  Testament  is  in  point. 

IF  THERE  is  no  eternal  punishment  for 
the  sinner,  then  the  atonement  dwindles, 
and  salvation  is  not  so  great  a  thing  after 
all. 

IF  GOD  were  to  "  go  to  law  *'  with  us,  we 
should  be  in  hell. 

You  COMPLAIN  of  a  want  of  feeling,  of 
conviction.  But  is  not  insensibility  of 
itself  one  of  your  worst  sins  ? 

THE  DEATH  of  Christ,  so  far  from  saving 
the  impenitent  from  punishment,  makes  it 
more  certain  that  they  cannot  avoid  it. 

CONVICTION  of  the  guilt  of  sin  produces 
fear;  a  feeling  of  the  pollution  of  sin  pro- 
duces shame. 

THERE  is  something  in  the  cross  that 
tests  and  discloses  the  state  of  the  heart. 
"The  thoughts  of  many  hearts  shall  be  re- 
vealed " 

SIN  is  attempted  deicide. 

THE  HANGING  of  a  murderer  is  just  as 
much  an  eternal  punishment  as  annihila- 
tion would  be;  for  it  is  once  for  all,  and  is 
never  undone.  But  to  apply  the  term 


SIN    AND    ITS    PUNISHMENT.  57 

41  eternal  punishment "  to  such  a  human  or 
divine  execution  is  an  obvious  perversion 
of  language.  The  term  has  a  meaning 
which  cannot  be  shrunk  up  in  this  way. 
A  punishment  cannot  be  at  once  momen- 
tary and  everlasting. 

FOR  a  lost  sinner  to  vindicate  himself  is 
tantamount  to  accusing  God. 

SHOULD  a  sinner  have  his  eyes  opened  to 
see  what  he  is,  with  no  cross  to  flee  to,  he 
would  be  plunged  in  complete  despair. 

SIN  separates  us  from  God,  because,  pas- 
sively, his  holiness*  cannot  bear  its  touch, 
and,  actively,  his  wrath  -burns  out  against 
it. 

GOD'S  severest  judgment  is  according  to 
truth.  Rom.  2:2. 

A  JUST  estimate  of  sin.  says  Dr.  Moss, 
lies  at  the  basis  of  all  true  religion. 

THE  EVIL  that  we  do  God  does  (Amos 
3:6),  in  the  sense  that  he-  permits  it, 
bounds  it,  and  overrules  it. 

WE  may  view  the  essence  of  siri  as  con- 
sisting in  the  cherishing  of  a  will  contrary 
to  God's  will. 

WHAT  is  there  to  put  between  the  guilt 
4 


58  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

of  the  sinner  and  the  wrath  of  God  to  keep 
them  from  meeting?  Nothing  but  the 
blood  of  Christ. 

WE  are  afraid  of  being  detected  even  by 
ourselves. 

OLD  SELF  is  the  common  enemy  of  mer 
my  neighbor ,  and  my  God. 

LOOK  to  the  Saviour  agonizing  on  Gal- 
vary,  if  you  would  learn  the  sinfulness  of 
sin,  and  the  wrath  of  God  against  it. 

uBuT  is  in  danger  of  eternal  sin.11  Both 
the  Sinaitic  and  the  Vatican  manuscripts 
show  this  to  be  the  proper  reading  in 
Mark  3:  29.  No  theory  of  the  sinner's  ex- 
tinction of  being  in  another  world  can  pos- 
sibly be  reconciled  with  these  terrible 
words. 

WE  MUST  FEEL  a  spirit  of  justice  to  our 
sins,  if  we  would  have  the  mercy  of  God. 

UNTIL  we  can  see  our  own  sins  pun- 
ished in  Christ,  there  must  of  necessity  be 
a  certain  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment. 

How  OFTEN  in  this  life  we  see  the  proud 
fall  into  a  pit  of  their  own  digging. 

IT  CANNOT  be  a  small  crime,  says  Dr. 
Shedd,  which  necessitates  such  an  appa- 


SIN    AND    ITS    PUNISHMENT.  59 

ratus  of  atonement  and  divine  influence  as 
that  of  Christ  and  his  redemption. 

THE  PAGAN  world  has  ever  been  far  more 
certain  that  God  would  punish  sin  than 
that  he  would  pardon  it. 

THE  VERY  TERM  punishment  implies  pain. 
Therefore  eternal  punishment  means  eter- 
nal pain. 

IF  the  heathen  knaiv  better  than  they  do 
(Rom.  1 :  21),  a  holy  God  must  judge  them. 

THE  SIN  of  Meroz  was  a  sin  of  omission, 
and  for  it  there  was  God's  curse. 

WHEN  ABRAHAM  stated  to  Dives  the  prin- 
ciple of  justice  that  decided  his  destiny, 
the  wretched  man  had  nothing  to  say  for 
himself. 

THE  GREAT  sin,  that  of  unbelief,  is  a  sin 
of  omission. 

11  SON,  remember."  It  is  a  terrible 
thought,  that  a  man  may  be  left  to  the 
agony  of  his  own  reminiscence  forever  ! 

RESISTANCE  to  the  Spirit's  call  is  proof 
that  the  heart  voluntarily  chooses  to  sin. 

FIRE  cannot  consume  the  qualities  of 
matter.  Shall  it  ever  then  entirely  con- 
sume the  attributes  of  a  soul  ?  Is  a  soul 


60  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

less  than  matter?  Shall  it  then  be  said 
that  the  commitment  of  the  wicked  to  the 
fires  of  judgment  is  their  extinction  ? 

MEN  WILL  be  discarded  in  the  end  for 
bearing  no  fruit,  as  really  as  for  bearing  evil 
fruit. 

MEASURE  the  sinfulness  of  sin  by  the 
greatness  of  Christ  and  all  the  spectacle 
of  Calvary. 

THE  UNSAVED  are  in  closer  alliance  with 
Satan  than  they  imagine. 

THE  RADICAL  evil  of  human  character 
consists  in  a  determination  to  have  one's 
own  way,  says  Bushnell. 

IT  is  the  unrepentant  man  who  turns  the 
warnings  of  prophecy  into  certainties. 

THERE  WERE  those  to  whom  Christ  made 
the  awful  announcement.  Ye  shall  die  in 
your  sins! 

il  SIN  is  the  suicidal  action  of  the  human 
will/'  Its  reflex  is  the  will's  slavery. 
John  8:34. 

FOR  ONE  to  have  a  sense  of  the  sinfulness 
of  sin,  is  something  more  than  to  know 
that  he  has  done  wrong. 

A  RECENT  writer  says  that  the  danger  of 


SIN    AND    ITS    PUNISHMENT.  61 

a  deathbed  repentance  does  not  consist  at 
all  in  God  not  being  ready  to  spare,  but  in 
the  moral  certainty  that  such  as  a  man  has 
lived,  such  will  he  also  die. 

THE  existence  of  moral  evil  is  a  far  pro- 
founder  mystery,  than  even  the  awful  pun- 
ishment of  it. 

FINITE  MINDS  cannot  say  what  infinite 
justice  ought  to  do. 

HE  WHO  discerns  the  beauty  of  holiness 
must  necessarily  see  the  sinfulness  of  sin. 

TRIED  by  the  covenant  of  works  who  can 
stand  ? 

THE  WRATH  of  God  is  the  essential  antag- 
onism of  his  nature  to  sin,  and  it  must 
have  a  full  and  unhindered  expression. 
Jer.  30:24. 

A  SINNER  will  neither  seek  nor  accept 
the  great  atonement,  till  sensible  of  his 
own  condemnation  justly  coming  from  a 
holy  God. 

PUNISHMENT  is  no  other  than  the  evil  of 
suffering,  inflicted  for  the  evil  of  sinning. 

No  ONE  can  deny  that  it  is  the  tendency 
of  sin  to  change  man  into  a  devil. 

"I  NEVER  GO  to   church,"   said   one;  "I 


62  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

spend  my  Sunday  in  settling  accounts. " 
11  The  day  of  judgment  will  be  spent  in  the 
same  manner,"  was  the  reply. 

WERE  THE  HISTORY  of  sin  minutely  writ- 
ten, no  finite  mind  could  endure  to  read  it. 

To  SHOW  how  extensive  human  deprav- 
ity is,  God  tells  us  that  the  very  ploughing 
of  the  wicked  is  sin. 

WHEN  SINNERS  are  under  the  deepest 
conviction,  it  is  not  so  much  particular 
sins  that  affects  them,  as  the  plague  of 
their  hearts. 

THE  GREAT  and  good  Bishop  Beveridge 
said:  "  Not  only  the  worst  of  my  doings, 
but  even  the  best  of  my  duties,  speak  me 
a  child  of  Adam.  I  cannot  but  look  on  my 
whole  life,  from  the  time  of  my  conception 
to  this  very  moment,  but  as  one  continued 
act  of  sin." 

THERE  is  NEITHER  felicity  nor  adversity 
of  this  world  that  can  appear  to  be  great? 
if  it  be  weighed  with  the  joys  or  pains  in 
the  world  to  come. 

GUILT  QUELLS  the  courage  of  the  bold, 
ties  the  tongue  of  the  eloquent,  and  makes 
greatness  itself  behave  poorly. 


SIN    AND    ITS    PUNISHMENT.  63 

OF  EARTHLY  JUDGMENTS,  one  of  the  heav- 
iest is  the  permission  to  sin  and  appear  to 
prosper. 

THEY  WHOSE  delight  is  most  in  worldly 
society,  shall  have  that  company  in  the 
world  to  come.  If  professed  Christians 
love  the  way  of  sinners,  they  shall  perish 
with  sinners. 

THE  SIN  of  angels,  like  that  of  men 
against  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  unpardonable. 

THE  UNIVERSAL  strangeness  of  men  to- 
wards God,  said  John  Howe,  apparently 
owes  itself  more  to  enmity  than  to  igno- 
rance. 

A  TERRIBLE  OVERTHROW  awaits  the  proud 
and  giddy  rejecter  of  Christ. 

A  VITIATED  HEART  is  the  parent  crimin- 
ality from  which  all  others  spring. 

IF  YOU  CONSIDER  sin  strictly,  said  Thomas 
Brookes,  there  cannot  be  any  little  sin,  no 
more  than  there  can  be  a  little  God,  a  little 
hell,  or  a  little  damnation. 

LIDDON  distinguishes  between  a  sense  of 
sinfulness,  and  a  sense  of  unpardoned  guilt. 
The  former  may  exist  after  the  latter 
ceases. 


64  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

IT  is  WITHOUT  doubt  true,  what  a  living 
divine  says,  that  repentance  is  impossible 
where  there  is  no  atonement.  The  wicked, 
therefore,  cannot  repent  after  death,  since 
then  there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  for 
sin. 

IT  is  A  FEARFUL  trial  to  the  Christian  T 
when  he  loses  a  friend  and  is  uncertain 
about  his  condition  in  the  next  world. 
Happy  is  he  who  at  such  a  time,  can  look 
through  his  uncertainty  to  God  who  doeth 
righteously.  To  be  swallowed  up  in  God's 
attributes  is  the  way  to  stay  the  soul  in 
contemplation  of  the  terrible-  retributions 
of  the  world  to  come  A  man  who  gets 
most  into  sympathy  with  God  will  be  most 
satisfied  with  what  God  does. 

A  RELIGION  that  does  not  sufficiently  dis- 
tinguish a  man  from  a  wicked  world,  will 
never  distinguish  him  from  a  perishing 
world,  said  John  Howe. 

THERE  is  SOMETHING  infinitely  evil  in 
unbelief.  It  can  reject  such  an  one  as 
Christ  is! 

IF  THERE  were  two  ways  to  heaven,  men 
might  hesitate.  But  when  there  is  but  one 


SIN    AND    ITS    PUNISHMENT.  65 

way,  and  men  wait,  it  is  this  that  angers 
God. 

WHAT  is  IT  to  sell  one's  self  to  sin,  as 
Ahab  did?  1  Kings  21:25. 

DAVID'S  CONFESSION  to  Nathan  shows  that 
the  decrees  of  divine  judgment,  revealed 
in  inspiration,  are  in  some  degree  already 
anticipated  by  the  verdict  of  the  heart 
itself. 

GOD'S  EXERCISE  of  justice  towards  sinners 
at  last  will  be  a  comfort  to  him  (Ezk.  5:13), 
though  in  their  death  as  such  he  has  no 
pleasure. 

INASMUCH  as  the  heathen  have  a  con- 
science, they  may  be  judged.  Ezk.  5:7; 
Rom.  2:  14. 

THAT  SIN  is  a  nature,  in  the  case  of  man 

since  the  fall,  is  pretty  well   suggested  by 

'Jer.  13:23.     It  is  as  much  born  with  us, 

and  as  hard  to  efface,  as  the  color  of  the 

Ethiopian  or  the  spots  of  the  leopard. 

No  ETERNAL  punishment  for  unrepented 
sin  is  the  overthrow  of  the  plan  of  salva- 
tion. 

THE  SINNER  is  joined  to  the  world;  the 
God,  At  death^jjip  Christian 


A*  S^B 

flfe  ff  OF  THE 


66  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

will  carry  with  him  his  God ;  but  the  sinner 
will  not  carry  with  him  his  world,  and  his 
ungratified  desire  will  be  a  hell  of  itself. 
Desire,  without  its  object,  will,  like  re- 
morse of  conscience  and  the  memory  of 
what  might  have  been,  be  a  gnawing  worm 
and  an  unquenchable  fire! 

HE  is  NOT  to  be  envied  who  taxes  his  in- 
genuity to  explain  away  the  natural  mean- 
ing of  the  severe  passages  of  God's  word. 

A  PUNISHMENT  that  ends  in  annihilation 
is  certainly  not  eternal. 

THE  SACRIFICES  of  old  showed  that  God 
had  a  terrible  feeling  against  sin,  and  was 
jealous  respecting  its  penalty;  but  also 
that  he  could  hide  it  behind  a  propitiatory 
cover,  could  pardon  it.  Ah,  what  a  differ- 
ence there  is  between  pardoning  sin  and 
ignoring  it;  between  propitiating  God's 
wrath  and  belittling  it! 

EVERY  PARDONED  sinner  has  endured  his 
punishment  in  Christ.  2  Cor.  5:  15. 

THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  must  be  interpreted 
by  the  New,  specially  in  regard  to  terms 
describing  the  judgment  of  the  wicked. 

THE  REWARD  of  unrepented  sin   shall  be 


SIN    AND    ITS    PUNISHMENT.  67 

a  fixed  character  for  sinning.  Rev.  22:11. 
The  sinner  shall  enter  into  sin,  and  have  it 
sealed  to  him.  He.  shall  reap  that  which 
he  sowed.  His  voluntary  choosing  is  his 
penalty.  Can  he  find  fault  ? 

THE  MOST  ALARMING  infidelity  of  the  pres- 
ent day  is  the  prevalent  unbelief  with  re- 
gard to  sin,  its  guilt  and  desert.  It  is 
affecting  even  some  of  our  theological 
systems. 

IT  is  AS  NATURAL  for  us  to  hide  sin,  as  to 
commit  it,  said  the  author  of  the  u  Fourfold 
State." 

ONE  TROUBLE  with  those  who  are  in  error 
concerning  the  final  punishment  of  sin,  is 
that  they  think  of  God  as  altogether  such 
an  one  as  themselves.  Ps.  50:21. 

THOU  COMPLAINEST,  0  sinner,  that  God's 
wrath  against  thee  is  too  great;  and  yet  it 
is  too  little  to  move  thee!  v 

UNBELIEF  SHOWS  itself  in  not  believing 
the  bad  about  ourselves. 

PUNISHMENT  in  the  next  world  is  no  more 
unworthy  of  God  than  suffering  in  this 
world. 

CAN  THE  SINNER  have  a  right  view  of  him- 


68  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

self  without  terror?  Will  Satan  let  go  one 
of  his  own  without  a  struggle  ?  Then  look 
for  hard  conversions. 

THAT  WHICH  Christ  suffered  shows  that 
the  wrath  of  God  must  have  vent  in  the 
actual  punishment  of  sin. 

MAY  NOT  he  who  is  eternally  sinning  be 
eternally  suffering? 

DOES  A  PERSON  argue  himself  into  suicide 
without  having  first  rejected  the  doctrine 
of  eternal  punishment? 

IF  WE  HATED  sin  as  God  hates  it,  should 
we  so  much  question  his  great  punishment 
of  it? 

IF  SINNERS  think  they  love  a  sin-forgiving 
God,  while  they  hate  a  sin-punishing  God, 
it  is  not  likely  they  are  yet  converted. 


PART   IV. 

ON  THE   NEW  LIFE. 

ONE  CAUSE  of  so  much  feeble  and  lan- 
guishing spiritual  life  is  the  neglect  to 
breathe  Bible  air. 

THE  SWEETEST  delight  of  the  believer 
should  come,  not  from  dwelling  on  his  own 
good  estate,  but  from  viewing  the  things 
of  God. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  is  a  sinner  saved  by  grace. 

IF  JESUS  had, his  body  broken  for  me, 
let  my  heart  break  for  him. 

THE  CHOICEST  things  are  wrung  from  ex- 
perience. 

TRIAL  will  tell  you  whether  your  hope 
will  hold  weight. 

TERTULLIAN  called  those  professors  who 
relinquish  their  first  love,  the  penitents  of 
the  devil. 

WE  FIND  ease  the  instant  we  abandon 
our  own  wills. 

THE  CASE   of  the  prodigal   son  forcibly 


70  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

teaches  sinners  to  come  to  Christ  just  as 
they  are.  If  he  had  waited  to  have  food 
and  clothing  before  going  to  his  Father,  he 
never  would  have  gone. 

To  FEEL  true  contrition  without  love  is 
an  impossibility. 

THE  DEVIL,  knowing  well  that  prayer  is 
the  secret  of  our  strength,  aggravates  dif- 
ficulties to  keep  us  from  it. 

LOVE  to  God,  or  enmity  against  him,  is 
the  root  of  each  man's  character. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  will  exercise  the  grace  of 
faith  in  heaven  itself. 

DUTY  ought  to  be.  inclination  in  the  re- 
newed heart. 

EVANGELICAL  religion  will  not  flourish  if 
its  representatives  do  not  keep  the  Sab- 
bath. 

SOME  dare  not  examine  themselves,  and 
some  are  too  indolent  to  do  it. 

CAN  you  dance  and  enjoy  religion  ? 

SOME  ONE  has  described  faith  as  dis- 
covered weakness  learning  on  omnipo- 
tence. 

A  MAN  is  unknown  to  himself  till  he  has 
affliction. 


ON    THE    NEW    LIFE.  71 

IN  THE  PRESENCE  of  a  high  doctrine  of 
grace,  is  not  faith  more  pleasing  to  God, 
than  the  essential  rationalism  so  common 
upon  such  occasion  ? 

AUGUSTINE  said  the  true  perfection  of  a 
man  is  to  find  out  his  own  imperfection. 

THE  PIVOT  of  victory  in  any  great  battle 
of  life  is  in  the  secret  heart. 

NOT  for  cure  only,  but  sometimes  for 
prevention,  are  afflictions  sent. 

THOMAS  BOSTON  said  there  are  many 
prayers  not  to  be  answered  till  we  come  to 
the  other  world. 

IT  is  NOT  left  to  our  option  what  our  pe- 
culiar burden  .shall  be. 

DELAY  in  the  answer  of  prayer  is  not  de- 
nial, but  a  trial  of  faith  and  patience. 

AFFLICTIONS  make  men  appear  in  their 
true  colors,  discovering  the  evil  in  them, 
likewise 'the  good. 

WILLINGNESS  to  retain  God  in  the 
thoughts  is  a  defense  against  sin.  Rom. 
1:28. 

BELIEF  in  the  Lord  is  the  antidote  of 
trouble.  John  14:1. 

GOD  GIVES  none  of  his  people  to  excel 


72  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

in  a  gift,  said  Boston,  but  some  time  or 
other  he  will  afford  them  use  for  the  whole 
compass  of  it.  The  patience  of  Job,  the 
meekness  of  Moses,  the  wisdom  of  Solomon, 
are  examples. 

THE  MORE  a  man  fears  God,  the  less  will 
he  be  afraid  of  men.  Matt.  10:  28. 

WHEN  we  repent  towards  any  one,  we 
are  touched  with  some  gentle  emotion  to- 
wards him. 

AVOIDING  one  temptation,  do  not  like  Lot 
go  into  another.  A  caution  from  the 
poet  Horace  will  here  be  recalled  by  some. 

IT  is  OFTEN  the  way  of  God  to  prepare 
his  people  for  a  great  stress  of  temptation 
by  giving  them  an  extraordinary  spiritual 
elevation. 

FAITH  is  something  that  agrees  with 
God's  thoughts. 

FAITH  is  a  living  link  connecting  the 
heart  that  possesses  it  with  God  who  gives 
it. 

IN  Christian  progress,  there  is  first  life, 
then  liberty.  But  liberty,  for  lack  of  faith 
or  instruction,  is  often  long  in  coming. 

THE  CHILD  is  impatient  to  see  his  parent's 


ON    THE    NEW    LIFE.  73 

promise  fulfilled.  God's  people  are  like 
this  child. 

WE  must  get  beyond  self-knowledge  if 
we  would  have  eternal  life.  John  17:3. 

HAVE  we  never  employed  language  in 
prayer,  or  otherwise,  that  might  seem  to 
imply  that  we  loved  sinners  better  than 
Christ  does  ? 

THE  BEST  preparation  for  the  week's  work 
is  the  communion  of  the  Sabbath,  said  J. 
W.  Alexander. 

LEARN  to  bear  the  reproaches,  the  mis- 
judgments,  of  even  good  men. 

JOHN  WESLEY  said  he  would  no  more 
dare  to  fret  than  to  curse  or  swear. 

FAITH'S  check  was  never  dishonored  in 
God's  bank. 

0  FOR  a  continuity  of  grace !  Our  good 
frames  are  too  much  like  the  tide. 

Is  thy  soul  pleased  with  the  Lord  Jesus  ? 

THE  REPENTING  sinner  must  be  reduced 
to  complete  self-despair,  though  not  to  de- 
spair of  God's  help. 

IT  is  generally  not  out  of  one  word,  or 
one  impression,  but  many,  and  these  often 
at  intervals,  that  the  Spirit  of  God  brings 


74  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

about  the  great  decision,  says  Horatius 
Bonar. 

WHAT  is  so  bracing,  so  elevating,  to 
one's  whole  moral  being,  as  faith? 

BECAUSE  one  is  yet  lacking  the  faith  of 
assurance,  that  is  no  evidence  that  he  has 
not  the  faith  of  adherence. 

WE  ARE  saved  by  even  a  little  faith;  but 
more  than  a  little  is  needed  for  joy,  and 
for  usefulness. 

CHRIST  has  gone  to  prepare  a  home  for 
us.  Are  we  getting  ready  for  the  home  ? 

Vows  and  resolutions  are  sometimes 
foolishly  put  in  place  of  believing. 

THERE  is  a  difference  between  spiritual 
pride  and  self-righteousness.  What  is  it? 

FOR  A  WOUNDED  spirit,  submission  and 
occupation  are  excellent  remedies. 

MAN  begins  with  God  when  he  gets  to 
the  end  of  himself. 

IT  is  God's  way  to  teach  his  children  in 
the  school  of  experience. 

ONE  HAS  SAID  that  in  trial  what  we  want 
is  not  change  of  circumstances  but  victory 
over  self. 

WE  CANNOT  have  the  Holy  Spirit  to  make 


ON    THE    NEW   LIFE.  75 

us  powerful,  unless  we   desire  him  also  to 
make  us  pure. 

GOD  will  have  the  believer  come  to  the 
judgment  to  let  the  universe  know  that 
there  is  nothing  against  him. 

THE  Christian  life  is  like  a  river  in  its 
continual  onwardness. 

WE  NEED  heavy  trials,  because  sin  is 
deeply  rooted. 

I  SHOULD  PRAY  much  in  peaceful  days 
that  I  may  be  guided  rightly  when  days  of 
trial  come,  said  Robert  M'Cheyne. 

NOTHING  is  thriving  in  the  soul  unless  it 
is  growing. 

IN  CLOSING  the  eyes  for  nightly  rest,  it  is 
good  to  repeat,  uHe  giveth  his  beloved 
sleep,"  and  in  opening  them  in  the  morning, 
to  say,  "When  I  awake  I  am  still  with 
thee." 

TRUE  repentance  cannot  stop  short  of 
submission. 

WHAT  is  the  assurance  of  hope  ?  It  is  to 
know  the  great  thing  God  has  done  for  us 
in  justifying  us  wholly  in  Christ. 

THE  REAL  PENITENT  feels  not  merely  the 
misery  of  sin,  but  the  guilt  of  it.  This  ap- 


76  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

pears  in  the  confession  of  the  thief.  Luke 
23:41. 

A  CALM  hour  with  God  is  worth  a  whole 
lifetime  with  man,  said  Robert  M'Cheyne. 

You  approach  .the  cultus  of  Rome,  if  you 
have  no  altar  in  the  house. 

SAID  John  Milne:  Are  we  enough 
alone?  Do  divine  things  get  time  to  soak 
into  our  souls  ? 

PRAYER  is  the  expresion  of  faith.  Rom. 
10:14. 

To  LIVE  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly, 
was  called  by  Rev.  J.  D.  Burns,  the  trin- 
ity of  Christianity. 

A  SENSE  of  forgiveness  implies  a  previous 
sense  of  sin. 

PRAYERFUL  desire  leads  on  to  obedience. 

ONE  has  said:  Patience  is  faith  suffer- 
ing; love  is  faith  acting;  hope  is  faith  ex- 
pectant. 

LET  us  rejoice  in  the  power  of  evangeli- 
cal religion! 

THE  CHRISTIAN  finds  vineyards  in  the 
wilderness  and  honey  in  the  rock. 

HE  THAT  has  not  known  adversity  is  but 
half  acquainted  with  others,  or  himself. 


ON   THE    NEW    LIFE.  77 

GENUINE  religion  must  be  allowed  to 
search  our  nature  to  the  bottom. 

THE  HEART  of  the  true  penitent  is  like 
the  burnt  child  that  dreads  the  fire. 

NOTHING  to  my  mind  so  proves  our  little 
faith,  as  our  little  feeling  about  the  spirit- 
ual condition  of  those  around  us,  says 
Ryle. 

To  BE  a  disciple  of  Christ  is  to  obey  him. 

BREAK  through  our  monotony  with  thy 
conquering  grace,  0  God ! 

BY  THE  GIFTS  which  awaken  our  grati- 
tude, and  by  the  crosses  which  soften  our 
feelings,  God  draws  us  towards  himself. 

TRIALS  are  of  three-fold  benefit  to  true  re- 
ligion. Hereby  the  truth  of  it  is  mani- 
fested; also  its  beauty;  thus,  too,  it  is 
purified  and  increased. 

THE  PRINCIPLE  of  true  religion,  like  Christ, 
came  down  out  of  heaven. 

IT  WAS  the  common  thing  for  New  Testa- 
ment Christians  to  be  "  assured." 

0  FOR  the  power  and  joy  of  a  revival  of 
religion ! 

GOD  NEVER  gives  a  faith  of  assurance  be- 
fore he  gives  a  faith  of  dependence. 


78  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

THE  DEVIL  does  not  assault  the  hope  of 
the  hypocrite,  as  he  does  the  hope  of  the 
real  child  of  God. 

TRUE  religion  does  riot  consist  in  mere 
good  wishes  and  resolutions. 

LeT  ME  know  what  it  is  to  love  God  for 
what  he  is  in  himself. 

SPIRITUAL  PRIDE  is  ostentatious  of  hu- 
mility. 

EXPECT  COUNTERFEITS  of  love  and   humil- 
ity, for  the  more  excellent  a  thing  is,  the 
more  will  be  the  counterfeits  of  it;  as  of 
silver  and  gold,  and  diamonds  and  rubies 
and  precious  medicines. 

JUSTIFICATION  is  the  door  of  blessed- 
ness. 

AM  I  WILLING  for  God  to  reign  ? 

THE  AWAKENED  sinner  should  not  be 
seeking  for  a  particular  experience,  but  for 
Christ. 

PIETY  encourages  cheerfulness,  but  not 
frivolity. 

WE  NEED  that  kind  of  conviction  which 
kindles  the  flame  of  religious  faith  in 
other  souls. 

THE  CONSOLATIONS  of  the  gospel  are  neces- 


ON    THE    NEW    LIFE.  79 

sary  to  the  growth  of  evangelical  holi- 
ness. 

A  SENSE  of  free  and  complete  salvation, is 
the  spring  of  holiness. 

GOD  is  to  the  believer,  what  he  is  to  him- 
self, the  fountain  of  bliss. 

THE  AWAKENED  soul  consents  to  the  law, 
that  it  is  holy,  just,  and  good. 

THE  AWAKENED  soul  pays  a  tribute  to  the 
law  by  forthwith  attempting,  though  in 
vain,  to  keep  it. 

THE  LEGALITY  of  the  convicted  sinner  is 
to  some  extent  a  token  of  good. 

THEY  THAT  have  done  most  for  God,  have 
been  those  who  have  most  joy  in  God. 

To  CONFESS  Christ,  and  his  salvation,  be- 
fore men,  is  health  and  strength  to  the  be- 
liever. 

IF  A  PERSON  prays  truly,  he  does  believe. 
You  think  you  do  not  believe;  try  prayer, 
and  see. 

IN  PRAYER,  abstract  faith  becomes  as  it 
were  concrete. 

A  MERE  inclination  of  the  soul  to  Christ 
is  the  beginning  of  love. 

As  WITH  MANY  healed  by  Christ  on  earth, 


80  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

so  with  souls  to-day;  they  commonly  reach 
their  blessing  in  obeying. 

THE  CHRISTIAN'S  life  should  be  in  part 
contemplative,  as  well  as  active,  if  he 
would  get  above  ordinary  attainment. 

How  CAN  the  fickle  Christian  retain  even 
self-respect. 

AN  EXTRAORDINARY  insight  and  even  fore- 
sight, akin  to  genius,  is  given  to  those  who 
live  in  communion  with  God. 

WHEN  A  MAN  becomes  a  Christian,  he 
comes  right  home  to  God  in  everything 
and  everywhere. 

ONE  OF  THE  FIRST-  symptoms  of  backslid- 
ing is  finding  fault  with  the  church. 

FASTING  is  a  duty  recommended  by  our 
Saviour,  in  like  manner  as  secret  prayer 
is,  as  may  be  seen  by  comparing  Matt. 
6:5,  6  with  6:16,  17,  18,  says  Jonathan 
Edwards. 

To  ENTER  into  the  world,  and  there  live 
fearlessly  according  to  conscience,  that  is 
Christian  greatness,  said  Robertson. 

CONVICTION  of  sin  is  needful,  not  as  in- 
clining God  to  give,  but  as  disposing  us  to 
receive. 


ON   THE    NEW    LIFE.  81 

How  LONG,  0  believer,  are  you  willing  to 
pray  for  a  widely-reaching  Holy  Ghost  re- 
vival? Are  you  weary  yet?  Tell  us. 

HAPPY  is  that  believer  who  has  got  so  far 
as  to  say,  u  0  God  my  heart  is  fixed,  my 
heart  is  fixed;  I  will  sing,  and  give  praise!" 

WHOEVER  LOOKS  for  salvation  by  any 
other  grace  than  that  which  saved  the  thief 
on  the  cross  will  meet  with  a  dreadful  dis- 
appointment. 

SPIRITUAL  PRIDE  has  a  very  quick  discern- 
ment of  the  low  religious  state  of  other  peo- 
ple, and  is  ready  to  decry  it. 

SPIRITUAL  PRIDE  finds  none  of  the 
churches  holy  enough  to  stay  with;  and 
the  preachers  all  need  to  be  taken  to  its 
school. 

IT  is  A  GOOD  SIGN  when  converts  feel  that 
salvation  is  something  too  good  for  them. 

Dr.  PAYSON  used  to  say  that  God  has  not 
told  us  how  often  to  pray,  nor  how  much 
to  give,  leaving  it  to  love  to  decide.  But 
both  giving  and  praying  are  alike  required. 

WHEN  GOD  gives  conversion  he  demands 
confession. 

THE  GIVING  DISPOSITION  is  a  spiritual 
5 


82  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

grace  (2  Cor.  8:  7),  as  much  as  faith,  hoper 
and  love,  and  should  be  as  constantly  cul- 
tivated. 

NOTHING  EXHILERATES  the  soul  like  the 
presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  it.  Acts 
2:13. 

IF  YOU  WILL  keep  alive  an  unforgiving 
temper  towards  any,  it  is  certain  you  can 
not  have  God's  forgiveness. 

BEING  MUCH  in  prayer  was  the  secret 
spring  of  the  eminence  of  such  men  as 
David  and  Daniel. 

PRAYER  is  AN  ENGINE  of  greater  power 
than  all  human  means  put  together. 

I  CANNOT  be  poor  so  long  as  God  is  rich, 
for  all  his  riches  are  mine,  said  Bernard. 

THOSE  WHO  do  not  meditate  cannot  pray. 

To  BE  forever  looking  to  self  is  hurtful, 
fostering  pride  or  gloom.  Get  out  of  self 
into  thoughts  of  Christ,  and  into  efforts 
for  the  good  of  others. 

Do  CHRISTIANS  sometimes  pass  a  whole 
day  without  one  devout  aspiration  ? 

THE  MISERABLE  religon,  which  is  ever 
hankering  after  worldly  pleasures  and  see- 
ing how  far  it  can  go  without  actually  for- 


ON   THE   NEW    LIFE.  83 

felting  the  Christian  character,  is  useless  to 
its  possessors  in  this  world,  and  will  profit 
them  nothing  in  the  hour  of  final  retribu- 
tion, says  Bishop  Kip. 

BICKERSTETH  says:  It  is  a  proof  of  the 
low  state  of  religion  among  us  that  so 
many  real  Christians  can  meet  and  part  in 
our  day  without  praying  together. 

MEDITATION  on  the  glory  of  Christ  will 
quicken  love  to  him.  The  beholding  of 
Christ,  says  Owen,  is  the  most  blessed 
means  of  exciting  all  our  graces,  spiritual- 
izing all  our  affections,  and  transforming 
our  minds  into  his  likeness. 

IF  YOU  WOULD  have  the  grace  of  consola- 
tion, you  must  have  the  grace  of  obedience. 

As  A  WHITE  garment  shows  soiling 
quicker  than  another,  so  a  little  fault  in  a 
good  man  attracts  notice  more  than  even 
great  offences  in  bad  men. 

SUPPOSING  we  do  give  till  we  feel  it-  did 
not  the  Saviour  feel  what  he  did  for  us  ? 

IF  THE  WAR  with  sin  is  in  the  members, 
this  may  signify  that  its  dominion  in  the 
heart  is  broken. 

You  MAY  continue  to  dance — and  grow 


84  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

lean  and  dumb  spiritually.  Is  it  not  best 
to  avoid  that  which  tends  to  quench  relig- 
ious life  ? 

A  HYPOCRITE  may  be  all  glorious  without; 
'  the  renewed  man  is  all  glorious  within. 

THE  SOUL  of  the  believer  has  a  divine  In- 
mate, the  Holy  Spirit. 

RALPH  ERSKINE,  drawing  near  to  death, 
uttered  the  joyful  shout:  "  Victory,  vic- 
tory, through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb." 

OBEDIENCE  is  doing  something  because 
another  having  competent  authority  has 
enjoined  it. 

IN  ONE  RESPECT  prayer  is  the  voice  of  sin 
to  him  who  alone  can  pardon  it. 

FAITH  is  revealed  in  acts  of  faith. 

THERE  is  no  way,  said  Jonathan  Edwards, 
in  which  Christians  in  private  can  do  so 
much  to  promote  the  work  of  Grod  as  by 
prayer. 

IT  HAS  OFTEN  been  said  that  a  Christian 
should  fulfill  the  twofold  service  of  Eddy- 
stone  light-house,  give  light,  and  save  life. 

ASKING  GOD  is  such  gainful  business,  I 
wonder  we  follow  it  up  so  little. 

NOTHING  is  MORE  fit  than  that  indigency 


ON    THE    NEW    LIFE.  85 

and  necessity  in  man  should  crave  and 
supplicate  unto  the  rich  abounding  full- 
ness in  God,  said  Howe. 

As  SOON  as  God  begins  to  bless  us,  we 
are  prone  to  let  go  of  him. 

SELF-WILLED  Christians  are  often  under 
the  hallucination  that  their  way  is  the 
Lord's  way. 

A  CHRISTIAN  experience  is  one  which  has 
Christ  in  it.  .  It  may  be  otherwise  with  a 
mere  religious  experience. 

CONVERTS  cannot  be  too  careful  about  the 
duty  of  baptism. 

IF  PROFESSED  converts  will  not  give  the 
glory  of  their  conversion  to  God  there  is 
poor  evidence  that  they  are  converted. 
Prophecy  declares  it  an  immediate  result 
of  God's  work  in  converting  sinners  that 
they  shall  know  him.  Ezk.  37:5,  6,  14. 

OUT  of  simple  obedience  to  Christ,  be- 
lievers ought  to  be  baptized. 

SOME  GOOD  SOULS  are  in  the  dark  because 
they  are  trying  to  believe  in  their  own 
faith.  But  was  faith  crucified  ?  Is  faith  the 
brazen  serpent  to  look  to  ? 

ANDREW   FULLER   said :     I    have    such  a 


86  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

hope,  that  with  it  I  can  plunge  into  eter- 
nity. 

THE  MOMENT  I  consider  Christ  and  my- 
self as  two,  I  am  gone,  said  Luther. 

TRIAL  is  God's  agency  not  only  for 
developing  Christian  character,  but  for 
manifesting  it. 

WILL  MODERN  DANCING  and  praying  thrive 
together?  We  never  knew  an  instance. 
One  is  very  likely  to  kill  the  other. 

COMMUNION  with  God  must  ever 'hold  a 
higher  place  than  service  for  God. 

A  CONVERTED  heathen  girl,  being  perse- 
cuted, said :  It  would  be  easier  to  die  for 
Jesus,  than  not  to  love  him. 

ARCHBISHOP  Leighton  wrote:  The  firm- 
est thing  in  this  lower  world  is  a  believing 
soul. 

SERVING  THE  LORD  in  order  to  be  happy, 
tends  to  legality;  the  work  done,  not 
Christ,  being  made  the  source  of  happiness. 

IT  is  NOT  by  reflecting  on  sin  and  its  con- 
sequences that  we  arrive  at  repentance, 
said  Luther,  but  by  contemplating  Jesus 
Christ,  his  wounds,  and  his  infinite  love. 

IT  is  BETTER,  said  Rutherford,  to  be  sick, 


OF  THE 

_|  UNIVERSITY  ff 
ON   THE.  NEW    LIFE.  J          87 

providing  Christ  come  to  the  bedside  and 
say,  u  Courage,  I  am  thy  salvation,"  than 
to  enjoy  lusty  health  and  never  be  visited 
by  God. 

EVERY  GREAT  blessing  to  Zion  is  born  of 
soul  travail.  The  anguish  of  sympathy, 
the  groaning  which  cannot  be  uttered, 
transpires  in  some  heart,  before  the  issue  of 
new  life  to  the  church. 

THE  INWARD  principle  of  obedience  makes 
outward  obedience  pleasant. 

WHAT  a  God-honoring  thing  it  is  to  see 
a  sorrowing  child  of  earth  cleaving  fast  to 
God,  says  Bonar, 

IT  is  FAR  EASIER  to  pray  against  a  temp- 
tation before  it  is  felt,  than  when  it  has 
begun  to  act. 

MEN  MUST  learn  the  lesson  of  submitting 
to  simple  authority.  The  true  Christian 
will  heed  positive  divine  commands.  The 
new  life  takes  to  them, 

SAID  AUGUSTINE,  when  conviction  of  sin 
finally  issued  in  spiritual  peace:  Pleasant 
is  it  to  me,  0  Lord,  to  confess  to  thee  by 
what  inward  goads  thou  tamedst  me! 

ASKING  God  to  sustain  the  work  begun 


88  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

in  his  heart,  Augustine  said:  Forsake  not 
thine  own  gift,  nor  despise  thy  green  herb 
that  thirsteth. 

Again  and  again,  in  his  divine  inter- 
course, Augustine  said:  Give  what  thou 
enjoinest,  and  enjoin  what  thou  wilt. 

HAVE  I  IN  ME  the  spring  of  living  water 
that  does  not  dry  up  when  there  is  a  dearth 
in  the  church  ?  Can  I  go  due  on  in 
patience  doing  my  duty  when  the  state  of 
religion  runs  low? 

WHAT  INTEREST  have  I  separate  from 
Christ? 

SATAN  likes  those  cold  prayers  that  deal 
in  generalities.  He  is  afraid  of  the  warm 
specific  ones. 

AUGUSTINE  exclaimed  to  God:  Thou 
madest  us  for  thyself,  and  our  heart  is 
restless  till  it  rests  in  thee. 

DR.  PAYSON,  being  sick  in  bed,  said  God 
put  us  on  our  backs,  that  we  might  lookup. 

Grace  tried  is  more  than  grace;  it  is 
glory  in  its  infancy,  said  Rutherford. 

THE  HIGHER  the  water  rose,  the  nearer 
was  the  ark  lifted  up  to  heaven. 

I  FIND  IT  most   true    that   the  greatest 


ON   THE    NEW    LIFE,  89 

temptation  out  of  hell  is  to  live  without 
temptations.  Grace  withereth  without 
adversity,  said  Rutherford. 

THE  MOST  OBEYING  man  shall  be  the  most 
knowing  man, 

IT  is  SAID  of  Martin  Luther  that  the  more 
he  had  to  do,  the  more  he  prayed. 

A  MAN,  said  Coleridge,  may  pray  night 
and  day  and  yet  deceive  himself;  but  no 
man  can  be  assured  of  his  sincerity  who 
does  not  pray. 

IT  is  THE  WHOLE  man  that  prays.  Less 
than  this  is  but  wishing  and  mummery. 

.  IF  WE  EXAMINE  the  feeling  of  self-doubt, 
often  thought  to  be  modesty,  we  shall  find 
it  is  not  modesty  all  through,  said  Dr.  Ide. 
Pride  and  the  devil  are  very  likely  to  be 
in  it. 

HE  WHO  has  the  Holy  Ghost  will  make 
much  of  Christ,  for  that  is  what  the  Holy 
Ghost  does. 

THE  MUTUAL  sympathy  of  Christians  is 
founded  on  (1)  a  common  ruin,  (2)  a  com- 
mon exposure  to  trial,  and  (3)  a  com- 
mon interest  in  the  salvation  of  Jesus. 

UNUSUAL  ELEVATION  of  spirit  is  often  the 
5* 


90  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

precursor  of  some  extraordinary  trial,  in 
this  world.  Moses  came  with  shining  face 
from  Sinai's  top  to  encounter  the  wretched 
scene  of  the  golden  calf.  Jesus  went 
up  from  the  blessing  of  his  baptism  to 
meet  the  terrific  onset  of  Satan,  and  went 
down  from  the  transfiguration  to  the  gath- 
ring  troubles  of  the  last  months. 

THE  SPURIOUS  convert  most  frequently  is 
a  sinner  against  the  Holy  Ghost. 

PAUL'S  WRITINGS  are  full  of  Christ.  The 
living  epistle  ought  not  to  have  less. 

WE  DO  NOT  enough  think  of  the  great 
things  of  God  obtained  in  our  justification. 
The  first  chapter  of  Ephesians  is  good  to 
set  our  minds  acting  on  this  subject. 

THE  ASSURANCE  of  hope  is  not  for  him 
who  still  cherishes  some  unrepented  sin. 

IT  is  A  RULE  in  divinity,  that  God  never 
takes  away  comforts  from  his  people  but 
he  gives  them  better,  said  an  old  divine. 

WHY  SHOULD  I  start  at  the  plough  of  my 
Lord,  which  maketh  deep  furrows  in  my 
soul  ?  I  know  he  purposeth  a  crop,  said 
Kutherford. 

I  HAVE  FOUND  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to 


ON   THE   NEW   LIFE.  91 

be  just  what  my  poor,  empty,  sinful  heart 
needed.  He  meets  my  want.  The  water 
of  life  is  good.  As  cold  water  to  a  thirsty 
soul,  as  the  clear  morning  air  to  the  weary 
invalid,  so  is  Jesus  to  me. 

GOD  PARTS  that  and  us,  which  would 
part  us  and  him. 

TRUE  HUMILITY  consists  more  in  believ- 
ing, than  in  being  sensible  of  sin,  said 
John  Owen.  Remember  this,  you  who  say 
you  cannot  feel  your  sins  enough. 

WE  RECEIVE  the  Holy  Spirit  in  our  obe- 
dience, not  in  disobedience. 

u  ELIJAH  OFFERED  his  prayer  and  then 
faced  the  dangers  of  Carmel.  Luther 
arose  from  his  knees  and  entered  the  diet 
of  Worms." 

THERE  MUST,  says  Howson,  be  enthusiasm 
where  Christ  has  been  received  fully  into 
the  heart. 

SOME  MAY  be  sanctified  from  birth.  Luke 
1:15. 

THE  TEMPTATION  of  many  " higher  life" 
persons  is  to  think  and  talk  more  of  their 
experience  than  of  Christ.  It  will  not  do 
to  make  idols  even  of  our  holiest  things. 


92  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

GENERALLY  neither  great  usefulness  nor 
great  joy  in  the  gospel  is  reached  except 
through  a  long  and  almost  despairing 
period  of  soul  travail  and  humiliation. 
Bunyan,  Owen,  Whitefield,  and  the  Wes- 
leys,  are  striking  examples. 

CHRISTIANS,  said  Bunyan,  should  be  often 
affirming  the  doctrine  of  grace,  and  justifi- 
cation by  it,  one  to  another. 

FAITH  RECEIVES  its  object.  It  is  one  kind 
.of  possession.  John  1 : 12. 

FAITH  PARTAKES  of  the  nature  of  its  object. 
Isa.  28:16. 

FAITH  is  the  soul's  going  out  of  itself  for 
all,  said  Boston. 

THE  LEGALIST  works  for  life ;  the  believer 
works  from  life. 

THE  TRUE  PENITENT  never  seeks  to  exten- 
uate his  own  sinful  acts,  as  Saul  did  in 
1  Samuel  15 :  24,  but  takes  all  the  blame  to 
himself. 

You  STRENGTHEN  your  convictions  by  ex- 
pressing them.  It  is  important  to  say,  I 
believe. 

THE  BONDS  of  our  union  with  the  Lord 
are  the  Spirit  on  his  part  and  faith  on  our 
part. 


PART   V. 

RELATING  TO  THE  CHURCH. 

THE  ROOT  of  church  troubles  is  pride. 

FAITH  makes  neither  too  much  nor  too 
little  of  a  gospel  ordinance. 

SOME  are  averse  to  pruning  off  perverse 
members  of  the  church,  having  more  ten- 
derness for  them  than  for  the  church  that 
is  wronged.  But  dead  branches  must  come 
off,  else  the  vine  is  hindered. 

THE  CHURCH  is  a  fountain  of  waters.  Cant. 
4:15. 

THE  ELDER'S  office  was  pre-eminently  a 
teaching  office. 

IN  EXAMINING  persons  for  the  church, 
learn  their  views  of  God's  character. 
There  is  nothing  better  to  reveal  their  view 
of  salvation,  or  the  type  of  their  expe- 
rience. 

SOMETIMES  mighty  influences  proceed  from 
the  quiet  ones  in  Christ's  church. 

AFTER  RECEIVING  infant  baptism,  there  is 
hardly  an  extreme  of  high-churchism,  or 


94  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

ritualism,  to  which  I  could  not  go.  The 
kind  of  arguments  that  could  induce  me  to 
accept  infant  baptism,  would  easily  take 
me  on  much  further. 

THE  FAITH  of  the  primitive  church  in 
Rome  was  spoken  of  throughout  the 
whole  world.  Rom.  1 :  8.  Has  the  amount 
of  faith  in  my  church,  or  yours,  awakened 
any  remark  abroad. 

HAS  A  PERSON  a  right  to  belong  to  a 
church  without  doing  something,  according 
to  his  ability,  to  support  it? 

A  CHURCH  has  the  right  of  declaring 
vacant  any  of  its  offices. 

RIGHT  DOCTRINE  is  as  essential  to  church 
prosperity,  as  is  a  converted  membership. 

THE  DENOMINATIONALISM  of  a  true  religious 
man  is  in  fact  his  purest  ideal  of  Chris- 
tianity; therefore  he  cannot  be  indifferent 
to  it. 

SERVE  your  church  as  God's  best  instru- 
mentality for  doing  good. 

DIVISIONS  among  Christians  are  the  joy 
of  the  devil. 

NOTICE  the  joining  of  prayer  with  one's 
baptism  in  Luke  3:21  and  Acts  22: 16. 


RELATING   TO    THE    CHURCH.  95 

A  BETTER  name  for  the  Sunday  school 
would  be  Bible  school. 

A  PASTOR  may  call  too  much  on  his 
people,  as  well  as  too  little. 

PASTORS  ought  to  visit  their  people  with 
love,  authority,  and  singleness,  as  doing 
God's  business. 

THE  CHURCH  is  a  vessel,  tossed  on  the 
stormy  waves,  but  well  anchored,  and 
never  to  sink. 

Do  THOSE  in  a  religious  society,  who 
complain  that  few  ever  call  on  them,  return 
what  calls  they  do  receive;  or  take  that 
notice  of  strangers  which  they  exact  for 
themselves? 

SOMEBODY  says  that  the  great  idea  of 
some  churches  now-a-days  is  some  titled 
man  and  him  glorified,  rather  than  Jesus 
Christ  and  him  crucified. 

"  REPENT  and  be  baptized."  Even  Pres- 
ident Edwards  said  of  these  words:  They 
teach  that  repentance  is  a  qualification 
that  must  be  visible  in  order  to  baptism. 

BAPTISM  symbolizes  a  change  from  death 
to  life,  and  they  who  have  experienced  the 
change  should  have  the  baptism. 


96  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

HE  that  is  in  the  church  from  principle 
will  not  leave  it  for  a  private  offence,  for 
greater  popularity,  or  for  pecuniary  advan- 
tage. 

You  SHOULD  as  soon  think  of  slandering 
your  own  family,  as  of  talking  against  your 
church. 

THOSE  professors  of  religion  in  our  land, 
who  forsake  the  house  of  God,  and  leave 
minister  and  church  to  struggle  on  alone, 
are  rolling  up  a  dreadful  account  against 
themselves ! 

IT  is  a  mystery  we  cannot  understand,  why 
some  good  people  are  bitter  against  apos- 
tolic immersion,  or  the  baptism  of  believ- 
ers in  water.  Will  some  one  explain  this 
peculiar  hostility? 

0  CHRISTIAN,  sad  is  the  indication  when 
you  do  not  love  to  come,  to  the  prayer 
meeting! 

WHO  MOST  make  baptism  a  saving  ordi- 
nance, those  who  administer  it  to  believers 
only,  or  those  who  will  ha^e  their  irre- 
sponsible, and  perhaps  dying,  babes  receive 
some  fancied  efficacy  of  it  ? 

CO-OPERATION,    co-operation, — none    but 


RELATING    TO    THE    CHURCH.      •  97 

himself  can  tell  how  much  a  pastor  values 
this  in  his  church,  or  how  unsettled  he 
feels  if  he  lacks  it. 

WHERE,  0  Christian,  can  you  spend  an 
hour  so  profitably  as  in  the  prayer  meeting? 

THAT  WHICH  makes  a  want  of  spiritual 
interest  in  a  prayer  meeting,  is  a  want  of 
spiritual  interest  out  of  it. 

SOME  PERSONS  will  practically  withdraw 
from  the  church,  and  then  complain  if  the 
church  withdraws  from  them. 

CHURCH  delinquents  are  church  killers. 
A  little  reflection  will  discern  how  this  is. 

THE  ON-GOING  of  the  church  has  been 
largely  by  the  revival  periods  of  her  history. 

THE  CHURCH  has  been  hindered  more  by 
the  influence  of  her  apostates  than  by  all 
the  opposition  of  men  or  devils  besides. 

THE  TENDENCY  of  the  denominations  now- 
a-days  is  to  self-glorification.  Half  an  eye 
can  discern  it. 

DID  YOU  never  see  a  person  with  whom 
an  obligation  to  the  church  was  less  bind- 
ing than  an  obligation  to  any  other  party  ? 
But  how  does  Grod  regard  such  ethics? 

WITH  SOME,  denominational  difference  is 


98  THINGS    TO    THINK    OP. 

a  matter  of  taste,  education,  or  even  acci- 
dent; with  others,  it  is  a  matter  of  con- 
science. 

DELINQUENT  MEMBERS  are  those,  upon 
whom  if  the  church  depended,  there  would 
be  no  church. 

BAPTISM  is  the  ordinance  of  burial  and 
resurrection. 

AN  ABLE  MINISTER,  now  in  Rochester, 
once  said  he  believed  the  Lord  had  called 
him  into  the  church  to  keep  people  out 
of  it. 

A  TIME  of  religious  declension  may  be  a 
boon  to  a  church  in  several  ways. 

Baptism  may  not  save,  but  it  blesses  the 
believer,  and  honors  Christ. 

WHEN  ONE  loses  his  interest  in  Christ's 
church,  what  can  you  say  of  his  interest  in 
Christ  himself. 

A  MAN  WHOSE  practical  attitude  is  against 
his  church,  or  its  ministry,  has  reason  to 
tremble. 

Do  YOU  KNOW  what  it  is  to  deny  yourself 
a  social  practice  to  please  your  church  or 
pastor  ? 

YOUNG  MEN  in  a  church  are  an  important 


RELATING   TO    THE    CHURCH.  99 

element  of  strength^  if  resolute  in  duty  and 
true  to  themselves.     1  John  2:  13,  14. 

THE  PSALMIST  said  he  had  rather  be  a 
door  keeper  in  the  house  of  God,  than  to 
dwell  in  the  tents  of  wickedness, — a  spirit 
quite  different  from  that  of  him,  or  her, 
who  loves  the  sound  of  the  fiddle  and  the 
motions  of  the  dance  better  than  the  prayer 
meeting. 

WHAT  A  POWER  in  human  society  is  a 
live  evangelical  church ! 

THERE  is  no  such  thing  as  "  resigning  " 
one's  membership  in  a  Christian  church. 
The  only  ways  out  are  death,  exclusion, 
and  dismission. 

WHO  ARE  responsible  for  interesting, 
active,  prayer  meetings  ? 

LET  THOSE  who  persist  in  pleasing  them- 
selves at  the  expense  of  the  feelings  of 
their  church,  know  that  there  is  a  God  in 
Zion. 

THE  CHURCH  ought  to  be  dearer  to  us 
than  any  private  griefs. 

GIVE  me  a  singing  church. 

FAULTY  church  members  generally  accuse 
everybody  but  themselves. 


100  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

How  GOOD  it  is  to  see  a  faithful  man  or 
woman  in  Christ's  church! 

A  PASTOR  may  be  hopeful  of  his  church , 
when  he  sees  it  given  to  solid  religious 
reading. 

FOR  SHORT  pastorates,  the  ministers  and 
the  people  are  about  equally  to  blame. 

THE  POLITY  of  our  Baptist  churches  does 
not  provide  even  so  much  as  a  corner  for 
those  who  regard  themselves  as  only  pas- 
sengers. 

CHURCH  FINANCES  prosper  where  all  give 
according  their  several  ability,  and  do  it 
with  a  willing  mind.  1  Cor.  16:  2;  2  Cor. 
8:12,  13,  14. 

AN  EDITOR  suggests  bulletin  boards  in 
the  church  vestibule  as  better  than  adver- 
tising all  sorts  of  church  affairs,  and  some 
other  affairs,  from  the  pulpit. 

PROF.  B.  A.  SOPHOCLES  is  a  native  Greek. 
In  a  large  Lexicon  of  the  Roman  and 
Byzantine  periods,  he  says  that  baptizo 
means  dip,  immerse,  sink,  with  various  met- 
aphorical uses  growing  out  of  this  primary 
sense;  and  declares  there  is  no  evidence 
that  a  New  Testament  writer  put  upon  this 


RELATING    TO    THE    CHURCH.  101 

verb     meanings     not    recognized    by   the 
Greeks. 

SCOLDING  never  did  much  good  either  in 
the  church  or  in  the  pulpit. 

A  SPIRITUAL  church  membership,  says 
Dr.  Jeter,  is  the  cardinal  Baptist  doctrine. 
Around  this,  all  the  other  distinctive 
principles  are  crystallized. 

WE  DO  LIKE  the  church  member  who  can 
be  in  the  minority  with  a  good  temper. 

IN  A  GOOD  article  on  church  polity,  Dr. 
Hovey  says:  A  man  who  will  probably 
sow  division  or  errors  in  the  church  that 
receives  him,  ought  not  to  be  received. 
The  law  of  self-preservation  and  efficiency 
forbids  it. 

THERE  MUST  be  a  greater  income  of  divine 
life  into  the  church,  into  the  preaching,  or 
the  Christianity  of  the  present  is  a  failure, 
a  mere  travesty  upon  the  apostolic  type. 
We  ought  to  feel  this,  almost  to  death. 

THE  IRREGULAR  BEHAVIOR  of  two  or  three 
members  gives  a  certain  odium  to  the 
whole  church.  One  member  cannot  mis- 
behave, and  the  whole  body  not  suffer 
from  it. 


102  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

WHEN  GOD  COMES  to  accomplish  any 
great  work  for  his  church ,  he  always  ful- 
fills Isaiah  2:17,  "  And  the  loftiness  of 
man  shall  be  bowed  down,  and  the  haugh- 
tiness of  men  shall  be  made  low,  and  the 
Lord  alone  shall  be  exalted  in  that  day.'' 

NOTHING  is  so  effectual  to  bring  God 
down  from  heaven  in  defense  of  his  people, 
as  their  patience  and  meekness  under  suf- 
ferings. 

WEEKLY  COLLECTIONS  on  the  Lord's  day 
are  simply  apostolical  (1  Cor.  16:2);  and 
giving  in  God's  house  is  an  act" of  worship, 
as  truly  as  praying  or  singing.  As  we  de- 
sire God  to  be  on  the  giving  hand  to  us,  go 
we  open  our  hearts  to  give  for  him. 

THE  LORD  solemnly  says  to  each  disciple: 
"What  are  you  doing  with  my  treasure, 
the  church  ?  It  is  dear  to  me ;  is  it  so  to 
you?" 

THE  PRINCIPAL  reasons  why  children 
should  be  in  the  Sunday  school,  apply 
equally  to  adults. 

THE  PRAYER  MEETING  is  an  excellent  nur- 
sery for  ministerial  candidates. 

EARTH  AFFORDS  no  more  impressive  sight 


RELATING   TO    THE    CHURCH.  103 

than  that  of  a  whole  congregation  uniting 
in  acts  of  prayer  and  praise  to  the  Lord 
of  all. 

AN  EMINENTLY  good  man  was  wont  to 
say:  We  many  times  blame  the  minister, 
when  the  fault  is  our  own,  that  we  have 
not  prayed  for  him  as  we  should. 

IN  THE  PRAYER  MEETING,  pray  directly  for 
a  few  things,  and  leave  the  rest  for  another 
to  ask. 

THERE  is  great  virtue  in  judiciously  let- 
ting things  alone  sometimes,  and  allowing 
them  to  right  themselves.  Every  pastor, 
in  particular,  will  learn  this  sooner  or 
later. 

IN  THE  CHURCH  of  the  future,  either  infant 
baptism  or  evangelical  religion  must  fail, 
says  a  late  Baptist  editor. 

IN  CHURCH  work,  in  Sunday  school  work, 
there  is  more  danger  of  having  too  much 
machinery  than  too  little. 

THE  PURITY  and  power  of  our  churches 
can  be  maintained  only  by  caution  in  the 
admission  of  members,  and  by  the  use  of  a 
kind,  prompt,  and  faithful  discipline. 

STRANGERS  may  decline  to  come  a  second 


104  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

time  to  a  church  because  they  do  not  like 
the  minister;  or,  it  may  be  because  the  peo- 
ple belonging  there  are  indifferent,  stiff, 
cold,  or  absent. 

FOR  CHRIST'S  sake,  even  more  than  for  his 
own,  let  the  believer  be  baptized. 

WHO  WOULD  wish  to  be  excluded  from  a 
Christian  church  ?  There  is  certainly  an 
odium  about  it.  and  God  meant  there 
should  be. 

WHEN  A  CHURCH  is  spiritually  weak  and 
backslidden,  we  may  expect  even  genuine 
conversions  will  be  feeble  and  indistinct. 

WHY  NOT  READ  at  the  sacramental  table 
such  scriptures  as  the  103d  psalm,  or  the 
23d,  32d,  or  34th,  or  some  of  the  valedic- 
tory words  of  Jesus,  occurring  in  John  14th 
to  18th?  inquires  a  New  York  pastor. 

EVERY  CHRISTIAN  is  bound  to  determine 
his  earthly  home  and  his  calling  with  some 
reference  to  Christ's  church. 

IF  YOU  HAVE  a  man  of  God  for  your  min- 
ister, pray  that  his  "  bow  may  abide  in 
strength." 

THE  CHURCHES  are  the  heaven-appointed 
guardians  of  public  morals,  the  preserving 


RELATING    TO    THE    CHURCH.  105 

element  in  human  society.  Are  they  true 
to  their  calling  ? 

BEECHER  says  the  great  trouble  with 
many  persons  in  public  prayer  meetings  is, 
that  they  are  not  willing  to  make  poor 
prayers,  to  humble  themselves,  to  become 
fools  for  Christ.  You  must,  he  says,  get  rid 
of  this  everlasting  self-consciousness. 

WHEN  MINISTERS  sprinkle  infants,  using 
the  solemn  formula  for  Christian  baptism, 
what  command  of  the  Saviour  do  they 
imagine  they  are  obeying  ? 

UPON  WHAT  SUBJECT  do  men  allow  them- 
selves to  be  cheated  by  sophistry  so  much 
as  upon  that  of  staying  home  from  public 
worship  ? 

DR.  G.  D.  BOARDMAN  says:  Ah!  this 
word  follow,  which  our  Lord  so  often  uses 
in  calling  men,  this  is  the  crucial  test  of 
membership  in  his  kingdom. 

A  GIVING  PASTOR  will  have  a  giving  church. 

Do  AWAY  with  infant  baptism,  and  you 
forthwith  revolutionize  the  Romish  church. 

CHURCHES  are  divine ;  associations,  human. 

HOLY  LIVING  is  not  going  to  church,  but 
going  to  church  may 

t> 

"  UNIVERSITY 


106  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

HAS  GOD  appointed  the  church  to  wait 
on  our  convenience  ? 

IT  is  a  pastor's  most  excruciating  humil- 
iation to  observe  the  apostasy  of  professed 
converts  whom  he  has  baptized. 

How  GREAT  was  the  splendor  of  Solo- 
mon's temple;  yet  how  much  more  glorious 
is  that  built  of  living  stones! 

THE  CHURCH  needs  more  confidence  in  her 
ordinary  appointments  and  means  of  grace. 

A  CHURCH,  like  a  hive  of  bees,  must  pro- 
duce more  than  honey  enough  for  itself. 

SHAKESPEARE  said:  All  superfluous 
branches  we  lop  away,  that  bearing  boughs 
may  live. 

THE  SIMPLE  law  of  self-preservation 
requires  discipline  in  a  church. 

SOME  PEOPLE,  because  they  cannot  give 
what  they  would  like  to,  will  not  give  any- 
thing. Not  so  the  widow  whom  Jesus 
watched  at  the  treasury. 

THE  CHURCH  that  does  well  by  its  pastor, 
will  be  most  honored  by  God. 

A  CHURCH  can  better  stand  the  opposition 
of  the  world  than  the  indifference  of  its 
own  members. 


RELATING    TO    THE    CHURCH.  107 

Do  YOU  KNOW  the  peculiar  gladness  of  a 
pastor  to  hear  good  things  of  an  absent 
member  of  the  flock  ? 

IN  REVIVAL  TIMES,  God's  people  are  Bible 
singers,  as  well  as  Bible  workers. 

THE  EXPRESSION  "  women's  prayer  meet- 
ing" is  preferable  to  that  of  "  female 
prayer  meeting." 

THE  SCHOLARLY  churchman,  Dean  Alford, 
conceded  that  the  Bible  knows  nothing 
of  infant  baptism. 

THE  SUREST  WAY  for  a  church  to  gain  a 
larger  congregation  is  to  be  faithful  to  the 
one  it  has. 

THE  CHARACTER  a  member  develops  in  the 
church  depends  on  the  way  he  begins. 

A  CHRISTIAN  congregation,  having  risen 
to  a  state  of  prosperity,  is  tempted  to 
despise  the  humbler  means  by  which  its 
prosperity  was  reached. 

HOSPITALITY  is  a  friendly  spirit  towards 
the  stranger.  It  is  an  excellent  church 
grace. 

THE  PASTOR  is  set  to  pray  for  his  people, 
as  much  as  to  preach  to  them.  Acts  6 :  4. 

ARE  YOU  NOT  responsible  for  a  fixed  local 


108  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

worship?     Who   has  excused  you?     Who 
has  given  you  a  card  to  be  a  wanderer? 

THE  GREATEST  of  all  societies  among  men  is 
the  church  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  the  only 
local  society  which  God  has  established, 

A  profession  of  religion  is  the  profession, 
(1)  of  a  personal  experience,  (2)  of  a  doc- 
trinal belief,  (3)  of  a  purpose  of  holy  ac- 
tivity in  the  church,  says  Dr.  Lamson. 

THE  WRITER  of  "Ecce  Homo"  thinks  if 
Socrates  had  appeared  in  an  age  of  print- 
ing, he  would  have  gathered  no  society. 
But  it  did  not  belong  to  the  essence  of  his 
mission,  as  it  did  to  Christ's,  to  found  a 
society. 

DOLLINGER,  too  gives  his  testimony  to 
the  practice  of  immersion  as  the  primitive 
baptism,  symbol  of  the  redemptive  burial 
and  resurrection. 

FESTIVALS  AND  FAIRS  for  religious  pur- 
poses are  not  often  to  be  encouraged. 
They  influence  a  community  to  give  less 
than  they  otherwise  would  in  the  long  run. 
They  are  not  economical.  They  are  likely 
to  involve  some  unpleasant  friction.  They 
ordinarily  exert  a  distracting  influence 


RELATING    TO    THE    CHURCH.  109 

upon  the  spiritual  interest  and  legitimate 
work  of  a  church. 

THOSE  WHO  were  disciples  in  apostolic 
times,  gave  themselves  not  only  to  the 
Lord,  but  to  his  church. 

FROM  THE  DAYS  of  the  apostles  till  the 
present,  there  have  been  spurious  converts. 
This  cost  must  be  counted  in  the  trials 
of  building  up  the  spiritual  house. 

IT  is  WELL  to  ask  the  question,  what 
would  become  of  the  church  if  all  the 
members  did  by  it  as  I  am  doing? 

NOT  EVERY  THING  which  is  essential  to 
the  completeness  of  a  church  and  its  min- 
istry, is  essential  to  the  reality  of  a  church 
and  its  ministry,  says  Dr.  Bright. 

LUKE  TELLS  us  that  Timothy  was  well 
reported  of  by  his  brethren  in  the  same 
church.  Blessed  is  he  whom  his  fellow 
members  in  the  church  can  commend. 

THE  GREEK  CHURCH  understands  baptism 
to  mean  immersion.  Can  it  be  that  it 
does  not  understand  its  own  language  ? 

IT  is  SOMETIMES  no  easy  thing  to  rejoice 
in  the  revival  success  of  a  neighbor  church 
and  minister.  But  Zion  is  one,  and  we 


110  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

ought  to  be  glad  of  prosperity  in  any  part 
thereof,  and  we  must  be,  however  little 
thrift  God  may  appear  to  give  to  us. 

You  WILL  FIND  the  church's  thermometer 
in  the  prayer  meeting.  There  you  will 
ascertain  its  real  height  and  power. 

CUYLER  has  this  about  converts:  The 
first  three  months  after  conversion  are 
ordinarily  decisive  of  the  question  whether 
the  convert  is  to  be  a  worker  or  a  drone 
in  the  hive,  an  active  or  a  silent  partner  in 
the  concern  forever  after.  . 

DIVISION  OF  FEELING  in  a  church  always 
affects  unfavorably  its  benevolence  and 
charity. 

IN  SENDING  contributions  to  Paul  at 
Rome,  the  church  at  Philippi  sowed 
worldly  things ;  but  in  receiving  back  from 
him  in  return  an  epistle  full  of  the  Spirit, 
they  reaped  spiritual  things  for  themselves, 
and  for  us. 

WE  HAVE  ARGUED  enough,  but  have  we 
prayed  enough,  for  the  prevalence-  of 
believers7  immersion  ? 

SENSATIONALISM  is  no  more  necessary  to 
make  a  good  Sunday  school  than  to  make 


RELATING  TO  THE  CHURCH.      Ill 

a  good  preacher.  It  creates  in  the  young 
an  appetite  for  excitement,  and  interferes 
with  sober  Bible  work. 

SIMPLICITY  in  the  exercises  of  a  Sunday 
school  is  a  prime  requisite.  Neither 
teachers  nor  pupils  want  much  to  distract 
them  from  their  immediate  class  work. 

THE  OBJECT  of  the  Sunday  school,  like 
that  of  the  pulpit,  is  to  convert  sinners, 
instruct  those  who  have  come  to  Christ, 
and  make  moral  citizens  of  all. 

EFFICIENT  class  work  is  after  all  the 
secret  of  Sunday  school  prosperity. 

PROPERLY  CONTROLLED,  the  varieties  of 
disposition  in  the  membership  of  a  church, 
as  in  the  ancient  apostleship,  make  the 
body  more  complete  and  more  efficient 
unto  its  end. 

IN  VIRTUE  of  his  own  circle  of  friend- 
ships and  influence,  each  member  is  a  kind 
of  mediating  agent  among  his  fellow 
members  in  the  church. 

UNITY  among  God's  people  does  not 
mean  uniformity. 

IRREGULARITY  in  attending  public  wor- 
ship may  have  more  to  do  with  one's  defect 


112  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

of  character  and  general  ill  success  than  he 
suspects. 

A  MUCH-MEETING  church  is  a  grand  instru- 
ment of  evangelization. 

A  CHIEF  Christian  work:  Do  what  you 
can  to  make  well-attended  and  prosperous 
meetings.  Here  is  work  for  every  convert. 

A  PRIME  motto  for  each  in  the  prayer 
meeting:  Rom.  12:  11. 

NEVER  MERGE  two  classes  in  a  Sabbath 
school  because  the  teacher  of  one  of  them 
is  absent. 

ASSIGN  A  NEW  SCHOLAR  to  a  class  with 
great  care.  Never  do  it  till  you  have  con- 
sidered both  what  the  class  is,  and  what 
the  scholar  is.  The  make-up  of  classes 
requires  the  wisest  superintendence  and 
the  most  jealous  preservation.  Without 
this  care  you  may  spoil  a  class,  or  lose 
your  new  pupil. 

WHEN  A  REVIVAL  comes  in  the  church, 
rejoice  with  trembling.  For  the  devil 
also  may  work,  and  probably  will. 

A  SELF-SATISFIED  church  is  a  dead  church. 

JUDAISM  was  a  culture  in  liberal  giving. 
Shall  church  life  involve  less? 


RELATING    TO    THE    CHURCH.  113 

BUILD  UP  the  church  in  spiritual  life, 
and  converts  will  be  multiplied.  Acts 
9:31. 

MANY  CHRISTIANS  remember  their  bap- 
tism with  more  interest  than  any  other 
event  of  their  religious  life,  save  their  con- 
version. To  me  it  is  an  ever  growing  event. 

THE  PERSONS  receiving  the  corrective 
baptism  at  Ephesus  claimed  to  have  had 
already  John's  baptism.  But  they  were 
mistaken.  This  is  proved  by  their  acknowl- 
edgement that  they  had  not  heard  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  For  in  John's  baptism  the 
Holy  Ghost,  as  well  as  Christ,  was 
announced.  Matt.  3:11.  It  was  only 
something  called  John's  baptism,  and  not 
the  reality,  that  those  persons  had  received. 
There  is  no  evidence  that  those  who  had 
the  real  baptism  of  John  ever  needed 
re-baptism.  His  was  indeed  essentially 
Christian  baptism,  as  perfectly  so  as  could 
be  till  Christ  actually  came  and  the  Spirit 
was  poured  out. 


PART  VI. 

FOR  THE  PREACHERS. 

PREACHERS  are  the  pole  on  which  Christ, 
the  brazen  serpent,  is  lifted  up. 

INTIMACY  with  the  Scriptures  is  impor- 
tant for  the  preacher ;  but  growing  acquaint- 
ance with  God  is  more  important. 

THE  MOST  successful  and  excellent  min- 
isters generally  have  something  in  their 
characters  which  is  a  trial  to  other  people 
and  keeps  them  from  glorying  in  man. 
We  have  this  treasure  in  earthen  vesselsT 
lest  we  think  too  much  of  the  vessels. 

IN  OUR  WAYS  of  evangelization  let  us 
make  no  compromises  with  unbelief, 
either  in  ourselves  or  in  other  men. 

NOTHING  sooner  destroys  ministerial 
weight,  either  in  the  pulpit  or  out  of  it, 
than  covetousness  or  penuriousness. 

HAVE  NOT  incipient  revivals  been  killed 
by  being  too  soon  blazed  abroad  ? 

WILLIAM  BURNS  mentioned  as  one  of  the 


FOR  THE  PREACHERS.         115 

grounds  of  his  departure  for  a  foreign 
mission  field,  the  want  of  any  late  special 
blessing  at  home. 

JOHN  MILNE  once  said :  I  think  I  have 
noticed  when  the  Lord  took  away  some- 
thing that  I  valued  greatly,  he  always  gave 
me  souls  in  return. 

AN  EAGER  THIRST  on  the  part  of  the  peo- 
ple to  hear  God's  word  preached,  is  one 
token  of  a  revival. 

THE  AUTHOR  of  some  late  notes  on  Gen- 
esis says:  One  who  comes  forward  much 
in  public  will  need  that  chastened  spirit 
that  matured  judgment,  that  subdued  and 
mortified  mind,  that  broken  will,  that  mel- 
low tone,  which  are  the  sure  and  beautiful 
result  of  God's  secret  discipline;  and  it 
will  generally  be  found  that  those  who 
take  a  prominent  place  without  more  or 
less  of  the  above  moral  qualifications,  will 
sooner  or  later  break  down. 

WE  MUST  not  be  so  absorbed  in  our  work 
as  to  think  more  of  it  than  of  the  Master 
who  gives  it  to  us  to  do. 

SIMEON'S  advice  to  British  preachers  was: 
Leave  off  whilst  your  hearers  are  still 


116  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

hungry.  That  will  bring  them  back  again 
for  more. 

THE  missionary  Burns  said:  If  we  as 
ministers  of  God  are  unfaithful  to  the  rich 
and  great,  all  our  faithfulness  to  others 
must  be  more  or  less  hypocritical. 

SAMUEL  said  even  to  the  rebellious 
Israel:  God  forbid  that  I  should  sin  in 
ceasing  to  pray  for  you. 

IN  LABORING  for  the  conversion  of  a  sin- 
ner, might  it  not  be  well  to  convince  him 
of  some  single  sin,  and  get  him  to  do  some 
one  thing?  Is  not  such  also  the  way  of 
the  Spirit?  In  Robe's  revival  tracts, 
greatly  used  by  William  Burns  in  the  Dun- 
dee and  Kilsyth  revivals  of  1839-41,  is  the 
statement  that  the  Spirit  usually  convinces 
of  particular  sins  in  the  first  place. 

IN  HIS  "  Thoughts  on  Preaching,"  J.  W. 
Alexander  quotes  a  remark  of  Helvetius, 
that  in  our  day  the  secret  of  being  learned 
is  heroically  to  determine  to  be  ignorant 
of  many  things  in  which  men  take  pride. 

Too  MANY  ministers  are  more  ready  to 
goad  on  the  people  to  giving,  than  to  give 
as  they  ought  themselves.  But  David, 


FOR   THE    PREACHERS.  117 

when  he   called   for  the    contributions  of 
the  people,  led  off  with  his  own. 

WE  WHO  feed  the  flock  of  God  ought  not 
to  let  anything  come  in  between  us  and  a 
daily  study  of  the  Bible, — neither  friends, 
nor  writing,  nor  the  reading  of  other  books. 

No  PASTOR  can  judge  of  the  preaching  of 
other  ministers  as  well  as  his  congregation 
can,  for  obvious  reas6ns. 

THE  ACCENT  of  personal  conviction  is 
more  effective  than  any  other  quality  in  a 
public  speaker. 

THE  AUTHOR  of  uAd  Clerum"  says  to 
young  ministers:  Be  on  your  guard 
against  professors  of  elocution,  if  you  wish 
to  be  natural,  easy,  and  effective,  as  public 
speakers. 

IT  is  to  be  feared  that  many  will  go  to 
hell  because  their  ministers  never  told 
them  about  hell. 

THE  PREACHER  may  promote  the  wakeful- 
ness  of  his  congregation  by  some  apt  use 
of  questions. 

TRUE  ministers  are  a  sweet  savor  of 
Christ  in  them  that  perish,  as  in  them  that 
are  saved. 


118  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

SOME  of  us  need  to  preach  more  boldly 
and  distinctly  concerning  the  eternal  pun- 
ishment of  the  wicked. 

OUGHT  we  to  honor  Christ's  reapers 
above  his  sowers  ? 

THE  WISE  skill  of  our  Lord's  conversation 
with  the  woman  at  Jacob's  well,  deserves 
the  study  of  all  soul-winners. 

THE  SHORTEST  way  to  prevent  heresies  is 
to  teach  all  truth. 

DR.  CUTTING  says:  No  function  more 
certainly  belongs  to  the  ministers  of  Chris- 
tianity than  the  care  of  education.  In  the 
end,  that  form  of  faith  which  educates 
the  people  will  have  the  people. 

0  FOR  wisdom,  ability,  and  courage,  ta 
speak  the  whole  truth  of  Christ! 

COMMUNION  with  God  imparts  a  holy 
skillfulness  to  the  Christian  workman. 

WHY  should  ministers  confine  their 
preaching  so  exclusively  to  the  Lord's  day? 

Do  not  our  Christian  communities,  our 
churches  even,  require  more  week-day 
preaching  of  the  word,  more  preaching 
"  out  of  season?"  1  Tim.  4: 1-5. 

BETTER  FAR  to  preach  often  with  Ordinary 


FOR    THE    PREACHERS.  119 

ability,  than  to  preach  rarely  a  great  ser- 
mon. 

SOME  talk  about  lessening  the  current 
number  of  preaching  services.  The  truth 
is,  we  do  not  preach  enough,  and  the  peo- 
do  not  hear  enough. 

THE  IDEA  of  the  sermon,  as  being  a  plant 
springing  out  of  the  seed  of  the  word,  is 
the  true  one. 

"  0  THE  painfulness  of  his  preaching," 
said  old  Thomas  Fuller  of  a  famous  divine, 
meaning  that  he  took  great  pains;  upon 
which  Trench  remarks:  "  If  we  had  more 
painful  preachers  in  the  old  sense  of  the 
word,  we  should  have  fewer  painful  ones 
in  the  modern  sense." 

DOUBTLESS  for  the  interests  of  the  truth, 
the  illustrations  in  a  sermon  should  be 
both  few  and  brief. 

SELF-SEARCHING  is  likely  to  make  a  man's 
preaching  searching. 

IT  is  FAR  more  difficult  than  is  commonly 
supposed  to  discern  whether  one  has  been 
converted. 

STRONG  DOCTRINE,  particularly  the  truth 
of  God's  sovereignty  and  justice,  was  at 


120  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

once  the  means  and  the  test  of  the  great 
revivals  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

THE  PREACHER'S  message  must  have  a 
basis  of  experimental  knowledge.  1  John 
1:3. 

QUIET  fearlessness  in  preaching,  the 
truth,  so  evident  in  the  apostles,  so  lack- 
ing oftentimes  in  us,  is  to  be  attained  only 
by  a  great  life  in  God. 

THE  PREACHER  presents  the  objects  of 
sight,  but  cannot  give  eyes  to  see  them. 

ARCHBISHOP  Leighton  expressed  the  opin- 
ion that  some  men  preach  too  soon,  and 
some  too  long. 

THE  UNBELIEF  of  men,  combined  with  the 
power  of  Satan,  presents  a  fearful  resist- 
ance to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel. 

FEAR  and  love  are  the  two  motive 
forces  employed  by  the  Bible  to  win  men 
to  God ;  and  we  weaken  either  at  our  peril. 

ELISHA  was  summoned  from  his  farming 
at  Abel-meholah  to  the  head  of  the  pro- 
phetic colleges.  Amos  left  his  puncturing 
of  sycamore  fruit  at  Tekoah  to  publish 
words  that  made  the  land  tremble. 

MINISTERS   begin    to    decline   in   power 


FOR   THE    PREACHERS.  121 

when  they  cease  to  grow,  and  they  cease 
to  grow  when  they  cease  to  study,  says 
Dr.  Moss. 

PAUL  AFFIRMS  in  Acts  26:22  that  the 
matter  of  his  preaching  was  the  fulfillment 
of  the  prophecy  of  Christ. 

IN  CHRIST  the  truth  welled  up  as  from  an 
inner  fountain.  It  was  no  effort,  but 
spontaneity,  because  he  was  the  Truth. 

DR.  CUTLER  says  a  hearer  gave  him  this 
practical  hint:  If  a  minister  can  only  con- 
vince his  congregation  during  the  first  five 
minutes  that  he  cares  for  nothing  but  to 
save  their  souls,  he  will  kill  all  the  critics 
in  the  house. 

PUBLIC  MEN,  and,  above  all,  ministers, 
need  to  guard  against  a  diseased  love  of 
adulation  and  notoriety. 

MINISTERS  are  appointed  to  be  helpers  of 
the  saints'  joy.  2  Cor  1 :  24 ;  1  John  1 :  4. 

WISE  DIVINES,  who  have  had  most 
acquaintance  with  such  things,  tell  us  that 
we  must  not  too  readily  think  a  person 
converted,  from  the  experience  he  relates. 

IF  A  MAN  wants  something  to  arouse  his 
evangelizing  spirit,  something  to  make  him 


122  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

more  bold  and  agressive  in  Christian  labor, 
something  to  refresh  his  soul  with  gospel 
power,  let  him  read  Abel  Stevens'  two 
first  volumes  of  the  history  of  Methodism, 
spanning  the  period  of  the  Wesleys  and 
Whitefield  in  England. 

IN  A  GENERAL  religious  awakening,  as  in 
the  season  of  spring,  there  appear  many 
blossoms  which  never  come  to  anything. 

WHEN  A  MAN  claims  for  the  press  a 
power  over  public  opinion  and  life,  greater 
than  the  pulpit  exerts,  he  is  simply  mis- 
taken. Oral  preaching  is  still,  and  will  be 
while  the  world  stands,  God's  great  instru- 
mentality of  power. 

A  SERMON,  to  be  preached  a  second  time, 
must  be  born  again,  says  Professor  Park. 

AN  OLD  farmer  said  of  a  minister  whose 
sermons  lacked  application:  He's  a  good 
man,  I  dare  say,  but  he  will  rake  with  the 
teeth  upwards. 

THAT  ONLY  can  be  trusted  as  a  certain 
evidence  of  grace,  which  Satan  cannot  do, 
said  Edwards. 

AN  EDITOR  says:  The  chief  business  of 
the  pastor  is  not  to  warp  in  outsiders,  but 


FOR    THE    PREACHERS.  123 

to  perfect  the  saints,  and  edify  the  body 
of  Christ. 

A  PASTOR  can  make  his  full  power  felt 
upon  the  world  only  as  that  power  goes 
through  the  church,  and  receives  mo- 
mentum from  that  medium. 

SHEDD  says  the  body  of  a  sermorT  should 
be  filled  with  the  proofs  of  the  subject;  but 
we  should  rather  say,  with  the  exhibition  of  it. 

THE  GRANDEST  WORSHIP,  next  to  a  holy 
life  is  a  sermon,  into  which  the  preacher 
has  put  his  holiest  thought  and  feeling, 
says  Dr.  Crane. 

THE  WORLD  is  in  danger  of  suffering,  not 
from  the  utterance,  but  from  the  conceal- 
ment of  the  truth. 

DR.  HALL  told  some  young  preachers 
that  they  could  either  give  their  hearers 
light  through  plain  windows,  or  let  it  in 
through  stained  glass. 

ELECTION  is  revealed  in  God's  word; 
therefore,  in  the  measure  in  which  it  is 
revealed,  the  ministers  of  the  word  are 
called  upon  to  declare  it. 

THE  MINISTER  needs  to  keep  his  own  soul 
well  fed,  if  he  would  nourish  others. 


124  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

THE  FOUNDATION  of  influence  in  parochial 
life  is  the  clergyman's  character. 

THE  GOOD  EFFECT  of  a  gospel  sermon  often 
appears  only  after  many  days. 

ONE  ELEMENT  in  William  Burns'  character 
invested  him  with  a  sort  of  apostolic  dig- 
nity: He  was  far  more  concerned  for  the 
glory  of  Christ,  than  for  the  salvation  of 
sinners,  says  Dr.  Lincoln. 

THE  MISSION  of  every  servant  of  God  is 
both  destructive  and  constructive.  Jer. 
1:10. 

IT  MAY  be  well,  in  some  cases,  to  probe 
with  a  doctrine  of  sovereign  grace  the 
hearts  of  the  awakened  to  ascertain  the 
reality  of  their  state.  By  such  a  test  the 
spurious  inquirer  is  offended  and  turns 
back,  while  the  genuine  one  bows  to  God 
and  accepts  of  mercy  only. 

IT  is  NOT  always  encouragement  that  an 
inquirer  needs.  Often  something  very 
opposite  is  wholesome  for  him. 

A  CONVERSION  that  should  have  the  light 
and  bear  the  tests  supplied  in  Booth's 
" Reign  of  Grace"  would  be  something 
genuine  and  strong.  But  who  of  us, 


FOR   THE    PREACHERS.  125 

knowing  the  contents  of  that  book,  has 
the  courage  to  give  it  to  an  awakened 
sinner  ? 

IT  is  FAITH  that  wins  souls. 

THE  USEFULNESS  of  a  preacher's  sermons 
Is  by  no  means  to  be  measured  by  the 
size  of  his  audience.  The  Great  Teacher 
was  not  particular  about  the  number  to 
whom  he  spoke. 

MINISTERS  ought  to  be  like  lions  to 
guilty  consciences,  and  tlike  lambs  to 
men's  persons,  said  Edwards. 

I  THINK,  said  Edwards,  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  reason  from  Scripture  to  conclude 
that  no  sort  of  men  will  be  so  low  in  hell 
as  ungodly  ministers. 

A  PREACHER  without  the  Holy  Ghost 
makes  awkward  work  in  the  often  needed 
word  of  rebuke,  in  declaring  the  sover- 
eignty of  God  in  election  and  effectual 
calling,  and  in  discoursing  of  the  terrible 
realities  of  the  judgment  day  and  eternal 
punishment. 

A  SERMON,  says  Beecher,  is  to  be  criti- 
cised by  its  results,  not  by  any  canon  or 
rule  of  the  schools. 


126  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

APOLLOS  was  the  evangelist  of  Christian 
growth,  and  refreshment. 

THE  LIFE  of  Barnabas  furnishes  the  beau- 
tiful lesson  of  co-operation  in  Christian 
work. 

THERE  ARE  SAMSONS  in  the  ministry  who 
have  been  shorn  of  their  strength,  perhaps 
by  their  vanity,  perhaps  by  their  injusticer 
perhaps  by  their  worldliness,  perhaps  by 
their  self-indulgence,  perhaps  by  their 
envy.  t 

BECAUSE  great  revivals  may  not  come  in 
my  day,  am  I  to  cease  to  believe  in  them? 

WHEN  REFUSING  to  vindicate  himself  from 
some  current  calumny,  John  Wesley  said: 
When  I  devoted  to  God  my  ease,  my  time, 
my  life,  did  I  except  my  reputation  ? 

JOHN  BERRIDGE  testified  that  as  soon  as 
ever  he  preached  Jesus  Christ  and  faith  in 
his  blood,  then  believers  were  added  to 
the  church  continually. 

SELF-SEEKING  is  a  temptation  of  Christian 
ministers. 

IN  A  REVIVAL,  the  immediate  actors  need 
not  take  the  credit.  The  work  may  be 
traceable  to  the  humble  agency  of  some 


OF  THB 

|  UNIVERSITY 


FOR    THE    PREACHERS.  127 


now  almost  forgotten  minister,  or  to  the 
prayers  of  some  obscure  Christian  sister 
too  feeble  to  reach  the  sanctuary. 

THE  MINISTER  who  has  not  talked  much 
with  the  Lord  during  the  week,  cannot 
speak  with  the  people  on  Sunday. 

FAITHFUL  PREACHING  will  fill  the  house 
with  living  Christians. 

THE  LORD  Jesus  Christ,  says  Spurgeon, 
got  on  very,  well  before  we  were  born,  and 
it  is  very  likely  he  will  get  on  exceedingly 
well  when  we  are  dead. 

THERE  is  nothing  out  of  heaven,  next  to 
Christ,  dearer  to  me  than  my  ministry, 
said  Rutherford. 

SOME  MINISTERS  are  "  all  things  to  all  men  " 
in  a  sense  so  unscriptural  that  they  gain 
none. 

How  FEW  of  us  know  what  it  is  to  cease 
to  work  for  self,  and  toil  simply  for  Christ! 
A  person  may,  even  in  the  most  earnest 
efforts  to  build  up  the  church,  be  working 
only  for  himself. 

THE  PREACHER  who  divides  his  sermon 
into  too  many  heads,  will  not  find  ears  for 
them  all. 


128  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

BUT  WHEN  I  go  away  from  hearing 
Father  Massillon,  I  leave  saying,  "  What  a 
poor  wretched  sinner  I  am,  how  wicked  I 
am/'  said  Louis  XIV. 

A  LATE  WRITER  calls  preaching  to  the 
intellect,  a  lamp;  to  the  experience,  a 
pitcher;  and  to  the  conscience,  a  trumpet. 

PREACHING,  when  truly  such,  is  essen- 
tially expository,  whether  a  short  verse,  or 
a  whole  chapter,  is  used.  The  preacher  is 
the  expounder  of  God's  word. 

A  MAN  can  have  no  worse  enemy  than  a 
flattering,  fawning,  minister,  that  does  not 
deal  plainly  with  his  conscience,  said 
Bishop  Reynolds. 

LUTHER  NAMED  as  one  qualification  for  a 
preacher  that  he  should  know  when  to  stop. 

IN  THE  CASE  of  an  inquirer,  endeavor  to 
learn  whether  it  is  his  state  of  heart,  or 
some  outward  sins,  which  gives  him  trouble. 
Conscience  is  sufficient  to  give  the  latter 
concern;  only  the  Holy  Spirit  can  produce 
the  former. 

SAID  WHITEFIELD:  It  is  true,  God  may 
convert  people  by  the  devil,  if  he  pleases; 
and  so  he  may  by  unconverted  ministers; 


FOR   THE    PREACHERS.  129 

but  I  believe  he  seldom  makes  use  of 
either  of  them  for  this  purpose. 

THE  QUESTION  of  the  success  of  a  man  or 
a  cause  is  a  difficult  one  to  decide.  Time 
may  show  that  the  success  of  to-day  is 
only  apparent,  and  that  present  defeat  is 
ultimate  success. 

Dr.  Staughton,  the  most  popular  Baptist 
minister  in  America  fifty  years  ago,  was 
accustomed  to  preach  less  than  thirty  min- 
utes, and  bring  a  whole  service  within  an 
hour. 

SOME  INQUIRERS  are  so  much  in  earnest 
that  you  can  open  the  gospel  to  them  with 
effect;  while  in  case  of  others  all  you  can 
do  is  to  open  to  them  the  sin  of  their  half- 
heartedness. 

WHEN  IN  THIS  COUNTRY,  Xewman  Hall 
said  he  would  modestly  express  the  opin- 
ion that  American  sermons  are  too  pre- 
cise, too  elaborate,  too  argumentative,  too 
essayrlike,  too  much  like  books,  and  too 
little  like  earnest  talk. 

IN  PREACHING  the  gospel  of  life,  both  the 
Saviour  and  his  apostles  principally  aimed 
to  exhibit  the  truth,  to  hold  before  the  peo- 
7 


130  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

pie  the  facts  of  Christianity.  It 
assumed  that  ordinarily  this  was  sufficient 
to  reveal  the  desire  or  aversion  of  the  peo- 
ple's hearts. 

You  CAN  DO  the  inquirer  but  little  good 
unless  his  heart  has  begun  really  to  thirst 
and  hunger  for  the  divine  and  the  spirit- 
ual. 

Do  NOT  some  learned  preachers  spend 
time  and  strength  in  seeking  to  convince  a 
few  prominent  infidels,  which  might  bet- 
ter be  used  upon  the  general  unbelief  of 
the  mass  of  men  ?  Let  us  address  our- 
selves less  to  the  philosophic  error  of  the 
boastful  few,  and  more  to  the  common 
unbelief  of  the  many.  Generally,  in 
answering  a  pronounced  infidel,  you  flatter 
his  pride,  and  do  not  reach  his  reason. 

THE  PEOPLE,  after  all,  care  more  for  a 
faithful  preacher  than  for  a  faithful  pastor, 
however  much  they  may  prize  the  latter. 

ROBERT  HALL  was  a  constant  student  of 
Demosthenes,  Euripides,  and  Pindar,  to 
the  close  of  his  life. 

ASA  was  not  king  of  Israel,  but  of  Judah. 
Yet  it  is  recorded  (2  Chron.  15:9)  that 


FOR   THE    PREACHERS.  131 

they  fell  to  him  out  of  Israel  in  abundance, 
when  they  saw  that  the  Lord  his  God  was 
with  him. 

DR.  STILLMAN  said  that  a  man  might 
preach  the  law  evangelically,  and  might 
preach  the  gospel  legally. 

0  the  trials  and  humiliations  incident  to 
my  ministry!  Yet  I  thank  God  who 
called  me  to  this  work. 

To  KNOW  HOW  to  wait  is  the  great  secret 
of  success,  said  De  Maistre. 

WE  MINISTERS  must  pray  more,  if  we 
would  effect  more. 

IT  is  of  no  use  to  put  in  the  sickle  before 
the  harvest  is  ripe.  We  can  hasten  noth- 
ing. 

DR.  JOHN  HALL  addresses  sinners  as  his 
Christless  brethren. 

WESLEY  said :  Lord  if  it  be  thy  gospel 
which  I  preach,  arise  and  maintain  thine 
own  cause ! 

THE  PREACHER'S  best  source  of  illustra- 
tion is  the  Old  Testament. 

PUSEY  speaks  of  a  certain  "  economy  " 
as  one  law  that  should  rest  upon  the  preach- 
er's lips.  The  time  for  preaching  a  given 


132  THINGS   TO    THINK   OF. 

doctrine  may  not  be  to-day.     Jesus  him- 
self observed  such  a  law. 

THE  THREE  elements  of  doctrine,  experi- 
ence, and  duty,  should  enter  into  gospel 
preaching. 

LET  us  BE  concerned,  but  not  anxious, 
about  the  cause  of  God. 

THERE  ARE  IMAGES  of  peace  and  pleasant- 
ness connected  with  the  pastor's  office, 
which  that  of  the  teacher  does  not  afford. 

ACTS  9:  15,  16,  suggests  that  Paul's  la- 
bors would  be  successful  in  proportion  as 
he  suffered. 

THE  LIFE  OF  WESLEY  is  invaluable  in  the 
way  of  stimulating  ministers  to  untiring 
evangelistic  labors. 

THE  MINISTRY  of  to-day  must  grapple 
with  the  great  and  difficult  subjects  of 
eschatology.  Error  is  at  present  making 
more  inroads,  and  is  harder  to  meet,  at 
this  point,  than  anywhere  else  in  the  sys- 
tem of  theology.  Here  materialism  is 
pressing  its  strongest  assaults.  Here  the 
unwary  are  most  easily  caught. 


PART  VII. 

IN  PHILOSOPHY. 

Do  ETHICAL  writers  in  general  -sufficiently 
take  into  account  the  fall  of  man  ? 

A  GREAT  PART  of  the  philosophy  of  life 
consists  in  making  large  allowances  for 
the  peculiarities  of  others. 

CONSCIENCE  is  modified  by  education. 
Then  why  should  the  public  system  prac- 
tically regard  intellect  as  the  only  thing  to 
be  educated? 

How  FAR  does  the  devil  know  man  ? 
Does  he  know  the  secrets  of  his  innermost 
spirit?  Able  and  orthodox  writers  have 
denied  this,  for  example,  Dr.  Duncan  of 
Edinburgh,  and,  we  think,  Jonathan 
Edwards. 

PLEASURE  followed  for  pleasure's  sake 
wears  men  out  sooner  than  any  ordinary 
work. 

Is  IT  RIGHT  to  eradicate  all  love  of  praise? 
Did  not  Paul  countenance  a  measure  of  it 


134  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF.  m 

in  the  saints,  and  seek  to  turn  it  to  sancti- 
fied ends? 

THE  TEACHING  of  the  golden  rule  is  that 
what  a  person  is  entitled  to,  is  according 
to  what  he  is  willing  to  render. 

THE  WILL  is  stronger  than  knowledge. 
Luke  16:31.  Desire  is  stronger  than 
knowledge.  Rom.  1 :  32. 

AN  EDUCATION  from  which  religion  is 
studiously  excluded  is  a  one-sided  educa- 
tion at  best,  even  for  the  intellect,  not  to 
speak  of  man's  more  comprehensive  nature. 

THE  RECOGNITION  of  God's  sovereignty  is 
an  intellectual  tonic,  as  well  as  a  moral  one. 

HONEST  DOUBT  is  painful ;  dishonest  doubt 
is  self-complacent.  The  former  is  gener- 
ally temporary;  the  latter  is  chronic. 
The  one,  says  a  writer,  is  the  sacred  agony 
of  a  noble  nature,  the  other  the  trifling  of 
a  fool! 

BECAUSE  a  belief  makes  one  happy,  that 
is  no  certain  proof  of  its  truth.  Often  one 
is  happy  in  a  delusion. 

THERE  is  a  craving  for  a  sort  of  infalli- 
bility in  religious  matters  which  leads  on 
to  infidelity  or  Romanism,  according  to 


IN    PHILOSOPHY.  135 

circumstances,  and  to  one  as  naturally  as  to 
the  other. 

CALVIN  says,  in  substance,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  his  theology,  that  a  man  cannot 
know  himself  except  as  he  knows  God. 
But  Sir  William  Hamilton  contends  that 
we  can  know  God  only  as  we  know  our- 
selves. 

THE  HEART  has  arguments  with  which 
reason  is  not  acquainted,  said  Pascal. 

OUR  SENSES  can  bear  no  extremes. 

SYMPATHY  is  never  got  by  exacting  it. 
It  avoids  compulsion. 

A  WRITER  has  said:  "  Habits  go  with  us 
to  eternity."  Partly  true  and  partly  false. 

THERE  is  no  possible  relation  of  life,  be 
it  social,  civil,  political,  or  any  other,  but 
involves  an  ethical  principle  and  moral 
duty,  in  reference  to  which  the  religion  of 
Christ  has  an  application. 

THE  GREAT  Edwards,  in  his  later  life, 
exhibited  a  strength  of  virtue,  which  was 
largely  the  outcome  of  the  lofty  ideals  he 
formed  in  the  beginning  of  his  religious 
career. 

FORCES  in  earth  and  mind  are  the  great- 


136  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

est  which  least  depend  for  their  action  on 
outward  accident. 

FOR  SUBLIME  and  lasting  effects,  give  me 
that  power  which  flows  into  results,  and  is 
not  driven  into  them. 

THERE  is  a  fundamental  defect  in  a  sci- 
ence of  morals,  which  does  not  find  the 
basis  or  final  reason  of  right  in  the  nature 
of  God,  rather  than  in  the  nature  of  things. 

MORAL  DISPOSITIONS  are  read  better  in  the 
face  than  in  the  skull. 

KNOWLEDGE  is  the  union  of  a  fact  with  a 
feeling,  says  Dr.  Shedd. 

A  MAN  is  what  his  thoughts  are. 

COLD  PHILOSOPHY  may  say  that  a  percep- 
tive knowledge  of  God  is  impossible  to 
man.  But  faith  never  will  be  satisfied 
with  the  proposition.  There  is  a  spiritual 
faculty  in  us,  whose  function  is  the  intui- 
tion of  God,  and  it  can  be  awakened  to 
action. 

THE  FACT  of  sin  is  a  sufficient  answer  to 
the  pantheist. 

As  TO  the  theory  of  virtue,  Dr.  Hodge 
cannot  agree  with  Edwards.  He  says: 
Between  making  the  glory  of  God  the  end 


IN    PHILOSOPHY.  137 

of  our  actions,  and  the  good  of  the  uni- 
verse or  of  being  in  general,  there  is  all 
the  difference  that  there  is  between  the 
love  of  Christ  and  the  love  of  an  abstract 
idea. 

NOTHING  calls  forth  man's  latent  powers 
like  Christianity. 

A  CRITIC  has  thoughtfully  said  that 
Comte's  fundamental  want  is  a  want  of 
conscience. 

THE  SUBJECT  of  biblical  psychology  will 
benr,  and  needs,  far  more  investigation. 
In  regard  to  terms  in  1  Thess.  5:23, 
John  Owen  said:  By  the  spirit,  the  mind 
or  intellectual  faculty  is  understood:  by 
the  soul,  the  affections. 

THE  HIGHEST  process  of  reason  is  to  dis- 
cover that  there  is  an  infinity  of  things 
which  utterly  surpass  its  strength,  said 
Pascal. 

As  IMAGINATION  defers  to  reason,  so  must 
reason  defer  to  faith. 

THE  AFFECTIONS  are  but  an  exercise  of 
the  will. 

THE  ANSWERS  which  truth  gives  to  a  man 
depend  very  much  upon  the  questions  he 


138  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

puts  to  truth,  and  the  questions  he  puts 
depend  very  much  on  the  principles  that 
rule  in  his  life,  says  Julius  Muller. 

Is  IT  RIGHT,  in  the  light  of  the  golden 
rule,  to  express  a  dislike  of  another  ? 

IF  A  GOOD  friend  bows  to  you,  he  not 
only  expresses  his  respect  towards  you, 
but  deepens  it,  by  an  obvious  principle  of 
philosophy. 

THE  POETIC  spirit  is  the  instinct  and  the 
soul  of  science. 

THERE  is  within  the  mind  a  golden 
vein  of  duty,  which  followed  aright  leads 
on  to  increasing  brightness. 

THE  SEAT  of  infidelity  is  in  the  heart. 
John  3:19. 

IT  is  IMPOSSIBLE  that  divine  truth  should 
pour  its  first  rays  into  the  soul  of  alienated 
man  without  producing  pain. 

BEECHER  says  he  believes  it  is  in  the 
power  of  very  high  moral  excitement  even 
to  expel  disease. 

WE  ARE  UNDER  as  much  obligation  to 
love  God  with  all  our  powers,  as  we  are  to 
avoid  the  great  crimes  of  murder  and 
adultery. 


IN    PHILOSOPHY.  139 

IN  MORALS,  said  Booth,  integrity  holds 
the  first  place,  benevolence  the  second, 
and  prudence  the  third.  We  may  ask,  do 
not  their  correspondents  in  the  divine 
character,  namely,  justice,  love,  and  wis- 
dom, stand  in  a  like  order? 

IN  HIS  BRILLIANT  "  History  of  Rational- 
ism," Lecky  makes  the  sad  confession 
that  rationalism  can  beget  no  enthusiasm, 
and  create  no  martyrs. 

MAX  MULLER  holds  that  man  originally 
possessed  an  instinctive  faculty  for  giving 
articulate  expression  to  the  rational  con- 
ception of  his  mind. 

THE  ULTIMATE  origin  of  rationalism,  is  the 
denial  of  the  Christian*  doctrine  of  sin. 

THE  WAY  to  meet  skepticism  is  not  by 
argument.  In  twenty  years  of  legal  dis- 
putation, I  never  saw  a  man  convinced 
against  his  will.  So  says  a  journalist. 

THE  DESIRE  for  happiness  is  natural;  the 
desire  for  holiness  is  supernatural. 

THE  WILL,  says  Emerson,  that  is  the  man. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  LAW  of  property  is,  that 
all  belongs  to  God,  and  is  to  be  invested, 
managed,  and  disbursed,  by  us,  in  accord- 


140  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

ance  with  the  indications  of  his  will,  and 
for  the  glory  of  his  name. 

REMORSE  is  an  operation  of  the  con- 
science, while  repentance  is  a  work  of  the 
heart. 

PROFESSOR  SHEDD  calls  that  the  "  better 
elder  philosophy"  which  comprehended  all 
the  powers  of  the  soul  under  the  two  gen- 
eral divisions  of  understanding  and  will ;  in 
the  former  of  which  should  be  embraced 
the  conscience,  as  an  intellectual  faculty,  a 
light  and  not  a  life,  a  law  and  not  an  ex- 
ecutive force. 

THE  PHILOSOPHY  of  lying,  as  having  a 
root  in  moral  cowardice,  is  well  suggested 
in  Isaiah  57:  11. 

THE  COMPANIONS  of  a  man  may  almost  be 
said  to  form  constituent  parts  of  his  char- 
acter. 

IT  is  IMPOSSIBLE  for  a  man  to  will  any- 
thing against  his  will. 

WHEN  MEN  come  to  believe  truth,  they  are 
at  once  affected  by  it. 

THE  MERE  affectation  of  the  man  becomes 
the  fixed  principle  of  the  imitating  child. 

FREEDOM  of  the  will  does  not  mean  free- 


IN    PHILOSOPHY.  141 

dom  from  motives,  but  freedom  from  com- 
pulsion. 

OLD  PREACHER  Playfere  said:  He  that 
remembers  his  virtues  hath  no  virtues  to 
remember. 

THE  STATELY  RUINS  of  the  human  soul 
bear  on  their  front  the  inscription :  Here 
God  dwelt! 

THE  DUKE  OF  ARGYLL  says:  Science,  in 
the  modern  doctrine  of  conservation  of 
energy,  and  the  convertibility  of  forces,  is 
already  getting  something  like  a  firm  hold 
of  the  idea  that  all  kinds  of  force  are  but 
forms  or  manifestations  of  some  one  cen- 
tral force,  issuing  from  one  fountain-head 
of  power. 

THERE  is  A  LAW  which  inseparably  con- 
nects earnest  conviction  of  the  truth,  in 
what  we  do  or  say,  with  the  very  fountains 
of  all  intellectual  and  moral  strength.  No 
accession  of  force  can  come  to  us  from 
doing  anything  in  which  we  disbelieve. 

A  MAN  is  bound  by  his  own  conscience, 
and  not  by  another's. 

WHAT  A  SENSITIVE  conscience  the  con- 
verted Augustine  had,  as  revealed  espe- 


142  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

cially  all  through  the  tenth  book  of  the 
"  Confessions!"  We  look  in  vain  for 
another  such  a  case  in  Christian  history. 

THE  LITTLE  dissatisfaction  the  artist  feels 
upon  the  completion  of  a  work,  forms  the 
germ  of  a  new  undertaking. 

THERE  is  immense  aggressive  power  in 
suffering  for  righteousness'  sake. 

DR.  A.  H.  STRONG  regards  President 
McCosh  as  the  leading  representative  of 
that  true  philosophy  which  aims  to  give 
all  the  facts  of  human  consciousness  their 
proper  weight,  and  to  maintain  the  faith  of 
those  sublime  intuitions  by  which  we  rec- 
ognize the  existence  of  the  world,  the  soul, 
and  God. 

THE  REAL  TEST  of  the  genuineness  of  any 
inward  affection  is  not  so  much  the  charac- 
ter of  the  feeling  as  it  reveals  itself  in  our 
sonsciousness,  as  the  course  of  action  to 
which  it  leads,  says  Dr.  Hodge. 

IT  is  WILL,  and  not  power,  that  gives  rec- 
titude or  obliquity  to -moral  actions,  said 
John  Owen. 

HE  WHO  BELIEVES  in  perseverance  is  more 
likely  to  persevere.  He  who  believes  in 


IN   PHILOSOPHY.  143 

final  triumph  is  more  likely  to  overcome. 
Ideals  invite  their  own  realization.  We 
press  toward  that  to  which  we  feel  ourselves 
called.  Phil.  3:14. 

IN  THE  FIRST  VOLUME  of  his  history  of 
England,  Anthony  Froude  says:  There 
seerns  indeed  to  be  in  religious  men  a  pro- 
phetic faculty  of  insight  into  the  true 
bearing  of  outward  things,  an  insight 
which  puts  to  shame  the  sagacity  of  states- 
men. Those  only  read  the  world's  future 
truly,  who  have  faith  in  principle,  as 
opposed  to  human  dexterity. 

SIR  WILLIAM  HAMILTON'S  educative  influ- 
ence upon  the  American  mind  the  last 
twenty  years  has  been  vast,  though  we 
perceive  a  prevailing  reaction  from  some 
of  his  leading  positions. 

IN  MOORE'S  "  Lalla  Rookh,''  Mokanna 
says  to  his  deluded  and  expiring  followers: 
Ye  would  be  dupes  and  victims,  and  ye  are. 

WE  THINK  the  most  when  we  are  the 
least  conscious  of  thinking. 

IN  u  Paradise  Lost,"  Milton  says  that 
smiles  from  reason  flow.  Some  philoso- 
phers have  defined  man  as  the  animal  ris- 


144  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

ible,  affirming  him  to  be  the  only  creature 
endowed  with  the  power  of  laughter. 

A  MOMENT  OF  ACTION  in  one's  self,  said 
Margaret  Fuller  Ossoli,  is  worth  an  age  of 
apprehension  through  others;  not  that  our 
deeds  are  better,  but  that  they  produce  a 
renewal  of  our  being.  She  did  not,  per- 
haps, know  that  this  deep  remark  is  truer 
in  the  action  of  gospel  obedience  than 
any  where  else. 

MUCH  READING  without  rest  or  produc- 
tion impairs  the  power  of  concentration. 

SOLITUDE  and  affliction,  as  well  as  the 
discipline  of  the  schools,  fit  the  mind  for 
severer  .thought. 

WHAT  is  THE  effect  of  frequent  removals 
on  mind  and  life? 

WE  DO  HAVE  some  thoughts  for  which  we 
have'  no  words.  Tholuck  says:  Vast  as 
is  the  world  of  names,  the  world  of  reali- 
ties is  yet  vaster. 

THERE  is  NOT  one  of  the  five  senses  which 
does  not  reveal  the  fact  of  an  external 
world.  Through  the  senses,  the  mind  di- 
rectly perceives  and  asserts  the  non-ego. 
But  Sir  William  Hamilton  maintains  that 


IN   PHILOSOPHY.  145 

this  knowledge  comes  in  a  roundabout 
and  inferential  way.  The  external  world, 
he  says,  comes  to  our  consciousness  as  a 
correlative  of  resisted  energy  in  the  act  of 
locomotion! 

WHAT  is  time  ?  To  this  question 
Augustine  answered :  If  not  asked,  I  know  ; 
but  attempting  to  explain,  I  know  not. 

SIMPLICITY  of  analysis  is  of  itself  a  strong 
presumption  in  favor  of  the  truth  of  a 
subject. 

No  MAN  LIVES  who  does  not  need  that 
peculiar  education  which  comes  from  the 
existence  of  mysteries  in  both  doctrine  and 
life. 

THERE  is  a  reflex  moral  influence  in  the 
bare  possession  of  property. 

PRINCIPLES,  though  what  are  least  in 
magnitude,  are  greatest  in  power,  said 
Aristotle. 

THE  MAN  of  policy  and  prevarication 
needs  an  excellent  memory. 

BELIEF,  and  deep  conviction  in  particu- 
lar, must  express  itself.  Psalm  116: 10. 

THERE  is  a  law  of  parsimony  in  nature ; 
she  performs  her  work  with  the  smallest 


146  THINGS    TO    THINK  OF. 

expenditure  of  means,  said  Sir  William 
Hamilton. 

THOMAS  BOSTON  called  the  will  that  com- 
manding faculty. 

THE  POWER  of  free  grace  is  needed  to 
remove  the  bands  of  wickedness  from  off 
man's  free  will. 

PRINCIPLE  lies  at  the  bottom  of  correct 
action;  truth,  of  virtue.  To  improve  men 
we  must  hold  before  them  the  idea  of  that 
to  which  we  would  bring  them.  Edwards 
in  his  later  life  exhibited  a  matured  virtue 
that  was  grounded  upon  his  early  ideas  of 
character  and  duty.  Always  a  good  moral- 
ity is  conditioned  upon  a  clear  conception 
of  what  is  right. 

No  MAN  can  realize  that  he  has  a  relig- 
ious nature  without  recognizing  the  exist- 
ence of  God.  The  complement  of  a  relig- 
ious nature  is  God. 

WHY  is  benevolence  so  terrible  when 
arrayed  against  evil? 

ONE  MARK  of  an  errorist  is  his  impa- 
tience towards  those  who  have  the  truth. 

SAYS  Sir  William  Hamilton :  As  depend- 
ent on  bodily  organization,  as  actuated  by 


IN    PHILOSOPHY.  147 

sensual  propensities  and  animal  wants,  man 
belongs  to  matter,  and  in  this  respect  is  a 
slave  of  necessity.  But  what  man  holds 
of  matter  does  not  make  up  his  personal- 
ity. He  is  conscious  to  himself  of  facul- 
ties not  comprised  in  the  chain  of  physi- 
cal necessity. 

As  MANY  VIEW  it,  what  is  conscience  but 
a  rational  instinct,  a  guide  without  com- 
prehension, but  rational,  because  it  reveals 
itself  as  the  voice  of  God,  which  all  instinct 
is,  without  revealing  itself,  says  President 
Hopkins. 

A  PERFECT  MORALITY  has  in  it  an  element 
of  religion.  The  love  of  God  is  essential 
to  the  rightness  of  an  action.  The  ethical 
teaching  which  does  not  comprehend  this , 
is  not  above  the  plane  of  Confucius  and 
Mencius. 

THE  MORAL  QUALITY  of  an  action  depends 
on  the  state  of  the  agent's  mind  in  the  doing 
of  it,  says  Wardlaw. 

WE  OFTEN  say  of  a  person  that  as  between 
man  and  man  he  does  his  duty,  but  fails 
towards  God.  But  let  us  not  forget  that 
man  cannot  be  right  with  man,  if  he  is  not 


148  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF, 

right  with  God.  This  fact  is  revealed  in 
the  true  analysis  of  virtue. 

SAYS  WARDLAW:  Love  is  obedience  in 
the  heart;  obedience  is  love  in  the  life. 
Morality  then  is  religion  in  practice ;  relig- 
ion is  morality  in  principle. 

THE  FACT  that  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the 
law  proves  that  it  is  the  persuasive  element 
of  all  that  is  absolutely  right. 

OF  LAW,  said  Hooker,  there  can  be  no 
less  acknowledged  than  that  her  seat  is  in 
the  bosom  of  God. 


PART  VIII. 

IN  LITERATURE. 

IN  the  year  1747  Jonathan  Edwards 
wrote:  Never  was  an  age  wherein  so 
many  learned  and  elaborate  treatises  were 
written  in  proof  of  the  truth  and  divinity 
of  the  Christian  religion ;  yet  never  were 
there  so  many  infidels  among  those  brought 
up  under  the  light  of  the  gospel! 

IT  is  remarkable  what  use  the  Saviour 
made  of  popular  proverbs. 

THE  LANGUAGE  of  Athens  is  universally 
acknowledged  to  have  been  the  most  per- 
fect form  of  human  speech,  says  Prof. 
Boise. 

IT  is  SAID  that  our  theological  semina- 
ries dispense  an  education  far  beyond 
that  required  by  any  denomination  in  Eng- 
land, even  including  '  the  Established 
Church? 

THE  AUTHOR  of  the  "  Social  Life  of  the 
Chinese  "  says:  One  of  the  grave  faults  of 


150  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

most  writers  on  China  is  that  what  they 
affirm  in  general  terms  of  the  Chinese,  is 
true  only  of  the  people  living  in  that  part 
of  the  country  where  they  made  their 
observations. 

IT  is  FOUND  that  the  writings  of  Moses, 
as  well  as  those  of  Plato,  betray  an 
acquaintance  with  the  elaborate  Sanscrit. 

IT  is  the  work  of  Christianity  to  recon- 
cile literature  as  well  as  man  to  Grod. 

RALPH  WALDO  EMERSON  says  of  Plutarch 
that  though  he  never  used  verse,  he  had 
many  qualities  of  the  poet,  in  the  power  of 
his  imagination,  the  speed  of  his  mental 
associations,  and  his  sharp  objective  eyes. 
A  good  naming  of  the  leading  poetic 
endowments. 

J.  W.  ALEXANDER  called  that  wonderful 
author,  John  Owen,  "  the  great  old  fellow." 

I  BELIEVE,  says  Spurgeon  that  there  are 
in  the  ki  Confession  of  Faith,"  more  of  the 
true  elements  of  moral  and  spiritual  phi- 
losophy, than  in  any  other  work  in  the 
English  language. 

REV.  J.  C.  RYLE,  who  is  excellent  au- 
thority, says  of  German  commentators: 


IN    LITERATURE.  151 

"  The  "few  German  writers  that  I  have  con- 
sulted appear  to  me  to  be  far  too  highly 
esteemed,  with  the  exception  of  Bengel 
and  Lampe.  Stier  is  always  reverential, 
but  tremendously  diffuse.  As  to  Olshau- 
sen  and  Tholuck,  I  have  generally  laid 
them  down  with  unmixed  disappointment. 
What  people  can  mean  by  telling  us  we 
have  much  to  learn  from  modern  German 
writers  on  Scripture,  passes  my  compre- 
hension." 

ONE  USE  of  error  is  to  confirm  those  who 
have  the  truth.  See  Bunyan's  works, 
Phil,  ed.,  vol.  VIII.  p.  46. 

WRITTEN  language  makes  Moses  and 
David,  Isaiah  and  Paul,  Luther  and  Leigh- 
ton,  our  associates;  and  we  can  be  alone 
with  them  in  their  best  moments. 

THOUGHT  creates  style. 

A  DISCOURSE,  as  such,  should  flow  from 
first  to  last. 

ALFORD  said  that  no  word  or  expression 
in  the  Bible  was  ever  u  put  for"  another. 

CALVIN  almost  entirely  ignored  the  works 
of  natural  creation  in  the  matter  as  well  as 
the  rhetoric  of  his  writings.  Henry,  in  his 


152  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

Life  of  Calvin,  vol.  I.  p.  306,  makes  some 
good  remarks  on  this  fact.  The  same  is 
true  of  Luther,  and  of  the  old  Reformers 
generally. 

THE  LAST  act  of  Luther's  life  was  to 
arrange  for  establishing  a  Latin  high  school 
in  Eisleben,  his  birthplace.  It  soon  num- 
bered seven  hundred  pupils,  and  has  not 
only  existed  but  flourished  from  that  time 
to  the  present. 

HOMER  spoke  of  the  rainbow  as  a  "  sign 
to  men." 

IT  is  STATED  in  Livingstone's  "  Zambesi," 
that  birds  of  song  incline  to  congregate 
around  villages. 

JAMES  HAMILTON  called  the  sermon  on 
the  mount,  the  manifesto  of  Messiah  the 
Prince. 

THE  BIOGRAPHER  of  James  Hamilton  says 
of  him:  No  man  made  more  use  of  what 
others  had  written,  yet  no  writer  of  his 
day  was  more- thoroughly  independent  and 
original. 

DR.  SEARS  in  his  life  of  Luther  says: 
After  a  public  education,  a  secluded  life 
often  contributes  most  to  tru&  greatness, 


IN    LITERATURE.  153 

by  holding  a  man  long  at  the  very  fountain 
head  of  thought  and  reflection,  as  was  the 
case  with  Chrysostom,  Augustine,  and 
many  others. 

IT  is  worth  while  to  learn  Greek,  were  it 
only  to  read  that  Christian  Demosthenes, 
John  Chrysostom. 

THE  LATE  Professor  Duncan,  of  Edin- 
burgh, said:  I  prefer  Aristotle,  as  a 
writer,  to  Plato.  Aristotle's  Greek  is  very 
amazing.  It  is  the  exactest  Greek  I  know. 
He  is  by  far  the  most  compact  and  precise 
writer  we  have. 

IT  is  A  SAD  fact,  says  Dr.  Anderson,  of 
Rochester,  that  the  most  depressing  influ- 
ences bearing  upon  college  education  in 
this  country  come  from  the  schools  of  phy- 
sical science,  law,  and  medicine,  which  do 
not  requires  preliminary  liberal  education. 
Among  the  professional  schools,  those  of 
theology  alone  steadily  encourage  high 
education. 

INTELLECTUAL  life  is  greatly  stimulated 
by  the  successful  issue  of  a  patriotic  war. 

WE  SPEAK  of  "  signing'7  our  names  even 
when  we  write  them  in 
8 


154  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

As  TO  the  influence  of  war  on  literature, 
we  must  remember  that  it  is  the  underly- 
ing sentiment  of  the  struggle  which  most 
immediately  affects  intellectual  activity 
and  consequent  literary  fruits. 

ELLICOTT'S  essay  on  "  Scripture  and  its 
Interpretation"  ought  to  be  taken  out  of 
the  volume  it  is  in,  and  published  sepa- 
rately. Nothing  is  so  good  in  the  line  of 
hermaneutics,  or  for  kindling  enthusiasm 
in  biblical  studies. 

EDWARDS  was  forced  to  be  an  exile  from 
Northampton,  that  in  Stockbridge  he  might 
compose  his  greatest  work.  And  then  he 
was  led  to  Princeton  to  die! 

JOHN  BUNYAN  says  of  "  Pilgrim's  Prog- 
ress:" It  came  from  my  heart,  so  to  my 
head. 

LYMAN  BEECHER  said:  Andrew  Fuller 
was  in  Old  England  what  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards was  in  New. 

THE  KORAN  contains  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  indorsements  and  commen- 
dations of  the  Bible. 

DR.  BEECHER  said :  If  I  were  to  go  over 
life  again,  I  would  study  history  more 


IN     LITERATURE.  155 

extensively  and  thoughtfully,  because  of 
its  use  to  a  public  speaker. 

IT  DOES  ministers  no  harm  to  write  some- 
times for  the  press.  It  is  likely  to  induce 
accuracy  in  thinking  and  in  the  use  of 
language. 

GIB'S  ESSAY  in  answer  to  the  philosophi- 
cal necessity  of  Lord  Kames  is  said  to  be  a 
most  ingenious  piece  of  writing.  Gib  was  an 
old  Scottish  divine.  Divinity  yields  a 
philosophy  which  is  a  match  for  any  mere 
philosopher. 

WITH  Robert  Hall,  the  works  of  Leigh- 
ton  were  a  gladness.  He  declared:  The 
reading  of  them  is  a  truce  to  all  human 
cares  and  passions,  like  lying  down  in 
green  pastures  and  beside  still  waters. 

IT  is  RELATED  of  Voltaire,  that  he  had  no 
sympathy  with  childhood,  and  that  the 
children  uniformly  shrank  from  that  sin- 
ister eye  in  which  the  eagle  and  the  reptile 
were  so  strangely  blended. 

SAID  Dr.  John  Duncan  of  Scotland: 
11  The  creeds  are  to  me  next  in  value  to 
the  Scriptures.  Undoubtedly,  of  all  human 
compositions  they  are  the  most  precious/' 


156  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

A  RECENT  commentator  on  the  epistles  of 
John  says;  As  a  rule,  the  briefer  form  is 
the  later  and  riper  form  of  thought. 

IN  HIS  "  Life  of  J.  D.  Burns,"  James 
Hamilton  said :  However  much  tutors  and 
professors  may  do  in  the  way  of  guiding 
and  inspiring,  yet  in  a  college  course  a 
material  element  is  the  education  which 
students  give  one  another.  Week  by 
week  in  regular  societies,  day  by  day  in 
little  cliques  and  coteries,  they  discuss  all 
matters  and  all  men,  and  prepare  that 
wiser  world  which  is  to  supersede  the 
present. 

IT  is  THE  FASHION  to  speak  against  such 
works  as  Edwards  on  the  "  Religious  Affec- 
tions," as  being  too  severe,  and  tending  to 
make  even  a  good  man  too  jealous  con- 
cerning his  spiritual  state.  But  happy 
would  it  be  for  this  age,  and  for  the  man- 
hood of  the  church,  if  such  works  were 
more  read  and  better  relished. 

JONAH  first,  and  then  Joel,  properly  form 
the  introduction  to  the  other  books  of 
prophecy.  Ewald  says  that,  morally 
speaking,  Isaiah  would  hare  been  an  im- 


IN    LITERATURE.  157 

possibility,  had  not  Joel  and  other  spirit- 
ual prophets  preceded  him. 

PASCAL  was  scarcely  ever  satisfied  with 
his  first  thoughts,  however  happy  they 
might  seem  to  others.  He  was  known  to 
remodel  no  less  than  eight  or  ten  times 
such  pieces  as  any  person  but  himself  must 
have  pronounced  admirable  after  a  single 
trial. 

PAYNE  SMITH  says  the  influence  of  the 
"  schools  of  the  prophets"  upon  the 
Hebrew  nation  was  singularly  renovating, 
and  that  the  learning,  order,  and  piety,  of 
David's  reign  sprang  from  them  in  a  great 
measure.  Is  there  a  lesson  in  this  for  our 
time  and  nation  ? 

EVERY  Christian  home,  that  can  afford  it, 
should  be  supplied  with  Ryle's  "  Exposi- 
tory Thoughts  on  the  Gospels."  Evangel- 
ically rich,  spiritually  deep,  they  are  a  val- 
uable aid  to  ministers  and  all  the  church  of 
Christ. 

Dr.  Winkler  says :  One  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful ministers  we  have  known,  was  ac- 
customed to  read  a  chapter  of  Christopher 
North  before  he  began  to  compose  a  ser- 


158  THINGS   TO    THINK   OF. 

mon.  In  the  lively  sympathy  with  nature 
thus  awakened  he  found  a  source  of  fresh 
and  vivid  illustration. 

SHEDD  .THINKS  the  hymns  of  Pindar,  as 
works  of  art,  as  exquisitely  complete 
wholes,  stand  at  the  head  of  human  com- 
positions. 

STUDY  PROMOTES  a  serious  character. 
Solid  thinking  and  airy  levity  are  utterly 
contrary. 

EMERSON  lives  for  simple  thought. 

As  A  MENTAL  history,  a  panorama  of  a 
mind,  Newman's  "  Apologia  pro  Vita  Sua" 
is  one  of  the  most  intensely  interesting,  as 
well  as  valuable,  of  books. 

THERE  is  DANGER  in  our  country  of  under- 
valuing culture. 

IN  LOWELL'S  ''Cathedral"  there  is  not 
seldom  a  poem  in  a  line. 

WE  HEARTILY  wish  Edwards'  "  Narrative 
of  Surprising  Conversions"  could  be  re- 
printed in  a  pamphlet,  and  sown  broadcast 
in  the  churches.  It  is  the  story  of  the 
great  awakening  in  1740. 

DR.  CHALMERS  is  annoyingly  diffuse,  but 
grandly  edifying  after  all. 


IN     LITERATURE.  159 

THE  GREEK  of  Aristotle  is  worthy  of 
attention  from  its  affinity  with  that  of  the 
New  Testament, 

IN  HIS  TALE  of  Christian  Gellert,  Auer- 
bach  has  beautifully  wrought  out  the  idea 
that  the  truest  giving  is  voluntary  and  self- 
moved. 

WE  FIND  the  writings  of  old  John  Owen 
a  great  gratification.  His  statements  of 
evangelical  doctrine,  his  expositions  of 
Bible  texts,  are  generally  of  the  very  clear- 
est and  richest  order.  Especially  deep  and 
valuable  is  his  great  work  on  the  Holy 
Spirit,  in  two  volumes. 

SCHOLARS  NOW  are  stuffed  with  too  much. 
With  so  much  to  learn,  what  can  they  un- 
derstand ? 

EDUCATE  the  children  to  be  accurate  and 
not  to  exaggerate.  Thus  will  the  world  be 
saved  from  much  of  the  great  load  of  lying 
under  which  it  groans. 

WE  BELIEVE  in  the  Independent's  feature 
of  big  wood  cuts  as  a  means  of  moral  edu- 
cation and  reform. 

IN  EDUCATION,  the  personal  influence  of  a 
teacher  is  more  than  his  book-lessons.  The 


160  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

fame  of  Holyoke  and  Rugby  illustrates  this 
statement. 

As  A  FORMATIVE  help  to  Christian  charac- 
ter, the  solid  reading  of  the  old  spiritual 
authors  is  much  needed. 

ELOQUENCE  is  great  thought  in  the  sim- 
plest words,  said  Bacon. 

THERE  ARE  THOSE  who  will  not  write  any- 
thing for  the  press,  unless  they  have  got 
somebody  or  something  to  controvert. 

IN  THE  VAST  majority  of  instances,  a  sound 
brain  implies  a  heart  free  from  the  taint  of 
meanness  and  deceit,  says  Peter  Bayne. 

THE  LAST  PAGES  of  Howe's  "  Living  Tem- 
ple," which  discuss  the  communication  of 
the  Spirit  through  Christ,  are  the  richest 
and  best  of  the  book. 

PARENTHETICAL  CLAUSES  are  not  only  often 
the  most  careful  part  of  a  statement,  but 
also  an  indication  of  accurate  thinking. 
This  may  be  easily  proved  in  the  writings 
of  Peter  and  Paul. 

AN  ENDEARED  friend  and  competent  critic, 
now  departed,  pronounces  Bryant's  "Than- 
atopsis"  a  production  belonging  to  a  re- 
vived paganism,  though  the  best  of  its 


IN    LITERATURE.  161 

class.  In  it,  he  says,  we  find  no  better 
consolation  in  view  of  death  than  the  fact 
that  princes  and  forests  die  also. 

THE  HISTORIAN  Froude  takes  due  notice 
of  the  place  of  the  English  Bible  as  a  factor 
in  the  great  movements  of  the  period  of 
Henry  the  Eighth. 

THE  AUTHOR  of  the  "  Reign  of  Law"  ex- 
travagantly says  that  the  discovery  of  the 
law  of  gravitation  was  probably  the  highest 
exercise  of  pure  intellect  through  which 
the  human  mind  has  found  its  way. 

IT  is  NOT  to  be  denied  that  Augustine's 
volume  of  u  Confessions  "  contains  much 
chaff  with  the  wheat. 

HARD  STUDY  is  not  necessarily  prejudicial 
to  health.  The  highest  mental  activity  is 
helpful  to  the  highest  physical  vigor. 

HOOD,  in  his  new  work  about  preachers, 
greatly  commends  Matthew  Henry  as  a 
commentator,  but  has  most  to  say  in  ad- 
miration of  John  Trapp's  "  Exposition  of 
the  Whole  Bible,"  5  vols.,  A.  D.  1650. 

THE  PEN  is  in  some  sort  an  image  of  eter- 
nity ;  for  it  will  make  a  man  live  when  he 
is  dead. 


162  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

THE  BIBLE  is  the  most  important  of  all 
educational  text-books. 

A  MAN  is  hardly  well  educated  who  does 
not  understand  the  Christian  religion. 

EMERSON  places  Milton  foremost  of  all 
men  in  literary  history,  in  the  power  to  in- 
spire. 

CIVIL  LAW  is  a  schoolmaster;  it  educates 
the  public  mind. 

MRS.  STOWE  says  the  faculty  of  saying  one 
distinct  thing  at  a  time,  in  a  pure  and  simple 
form,  unincumbered  by  unnecessary  words, 
lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  good  writing. 

A  RARE  but  admirable  trait  is  that  which 
Martineau  defines  as  a  deliberate  intellect- 
ual conscientiousness,  which,  scorning  to 
take  advantage  of  accidental  weakness,  will 
even  help  an  opponent  to  develop  his 
strength,  that  none  but  the  real  and  deci- 
sive issue  may  be  tried. 

AN  ENTHUSIASTIC  admirer  of  Lowell  calls 
him  the  most  Shakespearean  man  since 
Shakespeare,  And  the  leading  literary  or- 
gan in  New  York  is  of  the  opinion  that  so 
far  as  relates  to  power  of  expression,  and 
eye  for  character,  the  encomium  is  just. 


IN    LITERATURE.  163 

PROFESSOR  HOYEY'S  volume  on  the  "Mira- 
cles of  Christ"  is  very  valuable  for  the 
preacher.  It  is  one  of  those  books  that 
really  help  the  preacher,  without  tempting 
him  to  forego  original  work. 

THE  ARTICLE  on  Christ  preaching  to  the 
spirits  in  prison,  in  Dr.  Skinner's  volume 
of  "  Discussions  in  Theology/'  is  most  un- 
satisfactory. We  are  surprised  at  the 
writer's  fanciful  positions,  and  strained  in- 
terpretations. 

SAYS  Lowell:  Originality  consists  quite 
as  much  in  the  power  of  using  to  purpose 
what  it  finds  ready  to  its  hand,  as  in  that 
of  producing  what  is  absolutely  new.  The 
original  man,  like  other  sovereign  princes, 
has  the  right  to  call  in  the  current  coin  and 
reissue  it  stamped  with  his  own  image. 

THERE  is  that  life  in  Lessing's  thought 
which  engenders  life,  and  not  only  thinks 
for  us,  but  makes  us  think,  says  Lowell. 

"A  MAN  OF  LETTERS  must  lose  many  days 
in  order  to  work  well  in  one." 

A  PATCH  OF  SAND  is  unpleasmg;  a  desert 
has  all  the  awe  of  ocean.  So,  says  Lowell, 
the  immense  reach  of  Goethe's  egotism 


164  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

cheats  the  sense  into  a  feeling  of  some- 
thing like  sublimity,  and  saves  it  from  be- 
ing hateful. 

DR.  PEABODY  and  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson 
are  agreed  that  the  want  of  a  deeper  relig- 
ious spirit  in  our  age  is  belittling  our  liter- 
ature. 

EMERSON  says  that  in  general  it  is  proof 
of  high  culture  to  say  the  greatest  matters 
in  the  simplest  way.  But  DeQuincey  said 
that  deep  thought  infuses  necessarily  latin- 
ity  into  the  diction. 

MARGARET  FULLER  OSSOLI  said  if  she  were 
a  man.  the  gift  she  would  choose  should  be 
that  of  eloquence,  which  she  defined  as  the 
power  of  forcing  the  vital  current  of  thou- 
sands of  human  hearts  into  one  current,  by 
the  constraining  power  of  that  most  delicate 
instrument,  the  voice. 

THE  GREAT  Samuel  Johnson  was  a  great 
moralizer  and  a  poor  Christian.  His  bigo- 
try, his  summary  disposal  of  questions 
that  did  not  suit  him,  his  frequent  tirades 
against  worthy  men  and  manners,  his  tre- 
mendous prejudices,  his  habit  of  proud 
declamation,  and  his  unbounded  selfish- 


IN    LITERATURE.  165 

ness,  deserve  reprehension.  In  talk,  he  was 
a  sophist  of  huge  mould,  and  the  hearer 
was  sometimes  in  doubt  when  he  was  sin- 
cere. He  loved  the  opposite  side.  He  was 
weak  on  the  side  towards  flattery.  He  was 
unscientific. 

BEWARE  of  the  influence  of.  mere  culture 
without  religion! 

HISTORY  is  made  up  of  two  elements, 
events  and  their  relation  to  the  universal 
system,  says  Edward  Beecher. 

THE  PROVINCE  of  history,  the  manner  of 
writing  history,  and  the  life  and  spirit  of 
history, — the  material,  the  organization, 
and  the  life, — would  form  an  excellent 
study  and  outline  for  an  essay. 

NIEBUHR  SAID  that  whoever  is  engaged  in 
philological  studies  must  make  Herodotus 
his  daily  companion ;  iriust  not  cease  read- 
ing him. 

MAX  MULLER  extravagantly  asserts  that 
for  the  discovery  of  truth  there  is  nothing 
so  useful  as  the  study  of  errors. 

DR.  ARNOLD  always  held  a  poor  opinion 
of  Livy.  Here,  he  said,  is  what  history 
should  not  be  in  a  very  striking  manner; 


166  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

here  are  so  many  gallons  of  vapid  water. 
What  a  different  view  he  had  of  Thucyd- 
ides! 

As  A  MODEL  of  simple  ,style,  and  apt  use 
of  Scripture,  read  Boston's  "  Fourfold 
State."  It  is  as  limpid  as  water,  and  fairly 
savory  with  Bible  truth. 

THE  THIRD  EPISTLE  of  John  may  be  called 
the  missionary  epistle.  The  reason  will 
soon  appear  in  the  reading  of  it. 

WHAT  a  melancholy  undertaking  it  is  to 
overhaul  old  letters! 

OWEN'S  WORK  on  "  Forgiveness  "  is  meat 
and  drink  to  the  lover  of  spiritual  things. 
How  clear  the  style,  how  limpid  and 
analytic  the  thought,  what  Bible  lore,  what 
an  example  of  the  most  absolute  doctrine 
of  grace  without  a  fetter  of  antinomianism ! 

KENAN'S  u  Life  of  Jesus"  is  wholly  sub- 
jective, and  impresses  one  as  a  fiction.  But 
the  imaginary  hero  is  self-contradictory 
and  impossible. 

BONAR'S  BOOK  for  the  anxious,  entitled 
44  God's  Way  of  Peace,"  has  no  superior  of 
its  class. 

THE  LIFE  of  James  Hamilton,  by  William 


IN     LITERATURE.  167 

Arnot,  leaves  the  impression  that  his  preach- 
ing was  secondary  to  his  literary  pursuits. 

NEARLY  all  biographies  are  disappoint- 
ing. 

How  LITTLE  has  been  written  in  this  age 
upon  the  specific  subject  of  Christian  edu- 
cation! Let  any  one  attempt  to  hunt  up 
essays  directly  upon  the  subject,  and  he 
will  see. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  writer  is  generally  the 
most  comprehensive. 

THE  STUDY  of  language  seems  to  me  as 
if^it  was  given  for  the  very  purpose  of  form- 
ing the  human  mind  in  youth,  said  Thomas 
Arnold.  And  this  conviction  strengthened 
with  his  age. 

IT  is  a  great  mistake,  said  Arnold,  to 
think  that  the  younger  boys  should  under- 
stand all  they  learn.  Memory  is  more 
forward  than  the  understanding. 

SIR  William  Blackstone  commended  the 
study  of  the  ancient  classics  in  strong 
terms.  Especially  would  he  have  the  pub- 
lic speaker  a  proficient  in  this  study. 
There  will  follow,  he  said,  lucid  order,  a 
chastity  of  sentiment,  and  a  language  of 


168  THINGS   TO   THINK    OF. 

appropriate  manliness  and  harmony.  The 
manner  will  be  composed  and  independent, 
the  tones  of  the  voice  firm,  and  adapted  to 
the  occasion. 

HOWEVER  GREAT  the  ecclesiastical  errors 
of  John  Henry  Newman,  his  style  is  per- 
fectly admirable,  both  for  purity  and  rich- 
ness; and  beneath  the  classical  finish  is  a 
thoughtfulness  most  fresh  and  critical. 

FASTIDIOUSNESS  commonly  grows  with  an 
author  as  he  multiplies  his  compositions. 

Ho^  FEW  BOOKS  are  cared  for  after  the 
first  reading;  and  how  little  likely  is  a 
book  to  be  read  at  all  after  it  is  a  year 
old! 

How  is  IT  that  the  writers  for  our  Sunday 
school  libraries  give  us  so  much  fiction  and 
trash  ?  Is  it  so  exclusively  upon  this  kind 
of  reading  that^our  children's  tastes  are  to 
be  formed,  and  their  characters  built  up  ? 

A  NEEDED  and  a  possible  text-book  for 
young  students  is  a  volume  on  moral  activ- 
ities and  traits,  illustrated  by  biographical 
passages  in  the  Bible. 

ONE  ANCIENT  symbol  of  the  Deity  in  both 
Egypt  and  Hindostan  was  a  triangle  with 


IN     LITERATURE.  169 

an  eye  in  the  centre ;  another  was  an  image 
with  three  faces. 

IN  THE  ANALECTS  of  Confucius  the  golden 
rule  is  twice  expressed  negatively. .  Gibbon 
says  the  same  is  to  be  found  in  Isocrates. 

WHEN  A  STUDENT  obtains  his  collegiate 
education  in  immediate  contact  with  a 
large,  wealthy,  and  not  illiberal  communi- 
ty, there  is  a  better  chance  that  his  com- 
mon sense  will  be  as  well  developed  as  his 
scholarship,  says  Arnot  in  his  Life  of  James 
Hamilton.  If  Oxford,  he  says,  had  found 
itself  in  the  centre  of  modern  Birmingham 
the  Tractarian  retrogression  towards  Rome 
would  probably  not  have  occurred. 

PRESIDENT  PORTER  says  that  from  Lucre- 
tius to  Goethe  there  comes  up  the  sad  and 
unbroken  testimony,  that  the  absence  of 
faith  and  worship  weakens  and  withers  the 
most  gifted  genius. 

NEANDER  declared  that  Christianity  will 
not  long  maintain  itself  in  purity,  unless 
it  enters  deeply  into  the  intellectual  devel- 
opment of  the  people. 

A.  J.  GORDON'S  "In  Christ  "  will  greatly 
help  any  pastor  in  the  upbuilding  of  his 


170  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

church  in  an  intelligent  spiritual  life.     The 
style  is  worthy  of  the  profound  theme. 

THE  WRITINGS  of  Homer  do  not  furnish  a 
more  remarkable  passage,  one  more  sug- 
gestive doctrinally,  than  the  lines  in  the 
fifth  book  of  the  Iliad  relating  to  the 
wounded  goddess,  given  in  Lord  Derby's 
translation  as  follows: 

Forth  from  the  wound  th'  immortal  current  flowed, 
Pure  ichor,  life-stream  of  the  blessed  gods; 
They  eat  no  bread,  they  drink  no  ruddy  wine, 
And  bloodless  thence,  and  deathless,  they  become. 


PART  IX. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

GOD'S  COVENANT  with  nations  is  a  cove- 
nant of  works. 

To  INCREASE  one's  confidence  in  the  yet 
unspeakably  greater  advancement  of  Chris- 
tianity in  this  earth,  let  him  read  Jonathan 
Edwards'  rich  treatise  on  "  Union  in 
Prayer." 

WE  CANNOT  bo  too  often  reminded  that 
personal  morality  is  the  best  safeguard  of 
national  liberty. 

PASCAL  said  some  would  gladly  com- 
mence cowards  to  purchase  the  reputation 
of  valor. 

PRIDE  is  a  wonderful  counterpoise  of 
misery. 

WE  OUGHT  to  judge  by  the  will  of  God, 
and  not  by  our  own  will. 

OUR  CONVICTION  is  that  during  the  next 
half  century  the  great  progress  is  to  be  in 
experimental  Christianity,  and  not  in  sci- 


172  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

ence.  The  prodigious  activity  in  science 
during  the  last  fifty  years  has  been  a  kind 
of  John-the-Baptist  work,  preparing  the 
way  for  the  greater  running  and  gloryfying 
of  spiritual  things. 

To  TRUST  in  a  mere  ceremony  is  supersti- 
tion; but  not  to  comply  with  it  may  be 
pride. 

WE  MUST  remember  that  God's  law  is  his 
will. 

WASHINGTON  GLADDEN  says  that  a  defec- 
tive character  is  more  effectively  reformed 
by  the  display  of  a  higher  ideal,  than  by 
the  reproof  of  its  deficiencies. 

DR.  PEPPER,  of  Crozer,  says  there  are  two 
virtues  near  akin,  which  he  admires, — the 
virtues  of  uprightness  and  downright- 
ness. 

IN  ALL  the  best  men  you  meet,  perhaps 
the  thing  that  is  most  peculiar  about  them, 
is  the  child's  heart  they  bear  within  the 
man's,  says  the  author  of  "  Culture  and 
Religion." 

IT  WAS  A  SAYING  of  Dr.  Arnold  of  Rugby, 
who  was  certainly  no  disparager  of  intellect, 
that  no  student  could  long  continue  in  a 


MISCELLANEOUS.  173 

healthy  religious  state  unless  his  heart  was 
kept  tender  by  mingling  with  children,  or 
by  frequent  intercourse  with  the  poor  and 
the  suffering. 

BARON  STOW  said  that  mere  sight-seeing, 
except  for  purposes  of  health,  is  small 
business. 

EXAGGERATION,  whatever  may  be  its  im- 
mediate effect,  invariably  weakness  the 
cause  it  is  intended  to  support. 

THERE  is  no  self-denial  without  pain. 

SENECA  said  God  divided  man  into  men, 
that  they  might  help  one  another. 

No  MAN  is  found,  said  Seneca,  who  can 
acquit  himself. 

THE  EXPRESSION,  that  the  children  of  God 
never  meet  for  the  last  time,  is  a  thing  to 
think  of. 

SINCERE  gratitude  is  always  of  an  open 
and  diffusive  nature. 

RELIGIOUS  formalism  and  naturalism  were 
exemplified  respectively  by  the  Pharisees 
and  the  Sadducees. 

SAID  Pascal:  What  can  be  more  shock- 
ing than  to  feel  all  our  possessions  con- 
tinually sliding  through  our  hands,  and 


174  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

yet  to  acquiesce  in  this  wretched  povertyy 
and  to  entertain  no  desire  of  securing  a 
more  fixed  and  durable  treasure  ? 

RICHES  take  to  themselves  wings  and  fly 
away.  Clip  their  wings,  then,  by  giving. 

WHEN  a  man  speaks  the  truth,  you  may 
depend  upon  it  he  possesses  most  other 
virtues. 

RARER  than  the  phoenix  is  the  virtuous 
man  who  will  consent  to  lose  a  good  anec- 
dote because  it  is  a  lie,  said  DeQuincey. 

CHINA  is  a  land  of  idols,  and  this  is  a 
land  of  worldliness. 

THE  HISTORIAN  Froude  testifies:  All  that 
we  call  modern  civilization,  in  a  sense 
which  deserves  the  name,  is  the  visible 
expression  of  the  gospel. 

DUTY  is  one  of  the  loftiest  of  all  sensa- 
tions we  are  permitted  to  experience. 

WILLIAM  MARSH  said  he  must  daily  read 
something  the  Saviour  did,  suffered,  or 
said. 

I  HAVE  learned  that  the  man  who  tells 
you  he  has  no  ambition  is  the  most  likely 
to  be  ambitious.  The  derider  of  obstinacy 
in  others  may  be  a  particularly  obstinate 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


man.  I  may  think  I  have  no  will  of  my 
own,  and  yet  be  most  willful  and  self-com- 
placent. True  self-sacrifice  and  meekness 
are  self-forgetful.  Virtues  never  think  of 
themselves;  they  are  transitive,  not  reflex. 

BRITISH  POWER  has  been  God's  minister  to 
protect  the  missionaries  in  India  and  China. 

IF  PARENTS  will  not  give  their  children 
a  religious  creed,  other  people  surely  will. 

TREES  are  the  priests  of  nature. 

TACITUS  was  very  severe  in  his  language 
about  the  theatre-loving  people  of  his  day. 

MONEY,  like  fire,  is  a  good  servant,  but  a 
dangerous  master. 

WE  HAVE  a  duty  to  Christians  of  other 
names,  besides  that  of  witnessing  against 
them. 

THE  DEVIL  acknowledged  Christ.  Wicked 
men  must  come  to  the  same  thing. 

THAT  ALL  our  deeds  are  photographed  in 
God's  book  is  important  truth,  but  not  the 
highest  motive  to  right  doing. 

BAD  MEN  almost  always  wish  their  chil- 
dren to  be  good. 

THE  EXAMPLE  of  Paul  and  his  associates 
shows  that  missionary  efforts  should  first 


176  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

of  all  be  directed  to  those  people  which  are 
already  prepared  by  Providence  and,  in  a 
measure,  by  the  word  of  God. 

OUR   disappointments   are   heaven's   ap-* 
point-merits. 

NEVER  is  a  mass  of  beings  so  centrally 
stirred  as  when  the  Spirit  of  God  is  poured 
out. 

IT  WERE  WELL  if  the   civil  statutes  made 
the  writing  of  anonymous  letters  a  punish- 
'able  offense. 

IT  is  the  self-righteous  people  who  are 
the  greatest  fault-finders. 

HYPOCRITES  can  be  more  easily  brought 
to  talk  like  saints,  than  to  act  like  saints. 

THE  GREATEST  possible  external  miracle 
would  not  be  so  efficacious  in  bringing  a 
man  to  God  as  the  simple  reading  of  the 
Bible.  Luke  16:31. 

PERHAPS  the  next  general  revival  will 
take  in  the  Jews 

PASCAL  said  it  was  a  glory  to  our  religion 
to  have  unreasonable  men  for  its  enemies. 

A  GIRL  in  Scotland,  under  Dr.  John  Mac- 
Donald's  spiritual  advice,  prayed,  "  0  God, 
show  me  myself,"  till  she  was  convicted 


MISCELLANEOUS.  177 

and  wretched,  and  then,  "0  God,  show 
me  thyself,"  till  her  soul  was  full  of  hope. 

MERCIES  do  not  come  with  parade.  They 
slip  in  at  the  chinks. 

THE  STREAMS  of  religion  run  deeper  or 
shallower,  as  the  banks  of  the  Sabbath  are 
kept  up  or  neglected,  said  Calcott.  A  Hol- 
land preacher  called  the  Sabbath  God's 
dyke  shutting  out  an  ocean  of  evils. 

ON  BEING  asked  if  such  a  man  was  a 
Christian,  Whitefield  said:  "How  should  I 
know?  I  never  lived  with  him." 

NEVER  OWE  any  man  more  than  you  are 
able  to  pay,  and  allow  no  man  to  owe  you 
more  than  you  are  able  to  lose,  said  a  wise 
old  merchant. 

No  GOOD  CAUSE  needs  a  discourtesy  to 
help  it  along. 

WHEN  A  MAN  is  converted,  his  purse  is 
converted. 

THERE  is  but  a  breath  of  air,  a  beat  of  the 
heart,  between  this  world  and  the  next. 

WHENCE  did  arise  the  expensive  custom 
of  wearing  mourning,  and  how  far  should 
it  be  carried? 

THE  ONE  EVENT  which  never  loses  its  ro- 
9 


178  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

mance,  is  the  encounter  with  superior  per- 
sons on  terms  allowing  the  happiest  inter- 
course, says  Emerson. 

THE  AGE  is  so  full  of  surprises,  that  noth- 
ing is  surprising. 

HAPPINESS  keeps  one  young.  In  heaven 
we  shall  not  grow  old. 

WE  ARE  too  restless ;  too  fond  of  change. 
Paul  said  he  had  learned  in  whatsoever 
state  he  was  to  be  content. 

THE  SIDE  upon  which  God  is,  will  suc- 
ceed. 

IF  IT  is  important  for  children  to  obey, 
it  is  no  less  so  for  parents  to  know  how  to 
command. 

THE  CRY  of  the  oppressed  against  the  op- 
pressor is  always  heard  on  high. 

PIETY  may  consist  with  error  sooner  than 
with  indifference. 

THERE  ARE  TIMES  when  good  men  serve 
the  cause  of  truth  by  suffering  for  it,  more 
than  by  acting  for  it. 

COLERIDGE  said  the  act  of  prayer  was  the 
very  highest  energy  of  which  the  human 
heart  is  capable. 

EVEN  the  thoughful  pagan  acknowledged 


MISCELLANEOUS.  1 79 

the  necessity  of  painful  conviction  as  a 
first  step  toward  moral  improvement.  Over 
the  Delphic  portal  it  was  written:  Without 
descent  into  the  hell  of  self-knowledge, 
there  is  no  ascent  into  heaven.  Epictetus 
said  that  if  you  wish  to  be  good,  first  be- 
lieve that  you  are  bad. 

To  BE  ALMOST  a  Christian,  is  to  be  still 
unsaved. 

HE  WHO  respects  himself,  the  universe 
will  respect  him,  says  Emerson. 

CORNELIUS  NEPOS  said  of  Cicero:  "  His 
prudence  seemed  to  be  a  kind  of  divina- 
tion.' '  Of  spiritual  men  this  is  more  deep- 
ly true. 

THE  WORLD  MAKES  advance  only  through 
crises  of  sacrifice. 

IF  YOU  NEGLECT  a  present  known  duty, 
you  will  doubtless  be  less  disposed  to  it  af- 
terwards. 

PARENTS,  do  avoid  anger  when  you  cor- 
rect the  children.  You  may  reprove,  you 
may  chastise ;  but  do  not  fret. 

MUTUAL  dependence  is  likely  to  produce 
mutual  forbearance. 

You  WILL  PROBABLY  suffer  in  becoming  a 


180  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

Christian,  as  a  man  does  in  the  setting  of  a 
broken  limb.  But  then  will  you  decline 
to  be  made  whole  because  of  the  transient 
pain? 

MEN  SHRINK  from  repentance  because  of 
the  exposure  and  pain. -as  a  diseased  eye 
shuns  the  light.  Courage,  man,  if  you 
would  repent! 

ALONE  MUST  every  son  of  man  meet  his 
trial  hour,  said  Robertson. 

CHRIST  APPEALED  to  the  future  for  his 
vindication  and  explanation. 

GRACE  never  was  designed  to  distinguish 
the  worthy,  but  to  relieve  the  wretched. 

WHOEVER  is  habitually  desirous  of  riches 
is,  by  God's  estimate,  a  covetous  man, 
whatever  his  profession  or  state. 

DID  IT  EVER  occur  to  any  one  how  easily 
commendation  can  be  changed  into  con- 
demnation; the  uhosanna"  of  the  multi- 
tude into  "  crucify  him  "  ? 

SOME  PERSONS  are  really  converted  who 
think  they  are  not;  and  some  never  were 
converted  who  imagine  they  are. 

SOME  of  your  requests  it  might  be  a  curse 
to  grant;  as  is  said  on  one  occasion  of  the 


MISCELLANEOUS.  181 

Israelites :  God  gave  them  their  request, 
but  sent  leanness  into  their  souls. 

TIDINGS  of  God's  power  and  grace  in  any 
place  tend  greatly  to  awaken  and  engage 
the  minds  of  men  in  other  places. 

THERE  is  NEEDED  more  thought,  more  talk 
about  the  deepest  spiritual  things.  Is  it 
not  a  surface  period  in  religion  and  life  ? 

IT  HAS  BEEN  SAID  that  nothing  is  easier 
than  to  stab  a  man  with  his  own  words, 
if  adroitly  twisted ;  and  nothing  meaner. 

THE  WORLD  loves  its  own  thoughts. 

THE  LAWFULNESS  of  asking  God  for  tem- 
poral things  is  shown  in  the  Lord's  prayer. 

OF  ALL  sorts  of  egotists,  the  spiritual 
egotist  is  the  worst,  the  least  endurable. 

OLD  AGE  is  a  searching  test  of  one?s  piety. 

THE  FATHER  in  his  family,  the  teacher  in 
his  class,  has  a  parish  of  souls  for  whose 
eternal  condition  he  is  responsible,  as  much 
as  the  minister  in  his  congregation. 

IF  YOU  WILL  be  one  who  prays  in  secret, 
God  will  reward  you  openly. 

GOD'S  CAUSE  is  dearer  to  him  than  it  ever 
can  be  to  us. 

McCflEYNE,  having  spent  an  evening  too 


182  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

lightly,  wrote  in  his  diary :  My  heart  must 
break  off  these  things.  What  right  have  I 
to  steal  and  abuse  my  Master's  time  ?  "  Re- 
deem it! "  he  is  crying  to  me. 

THE  PRESENT  ANSWER  of  some  prayers 
might  foster  spiritual  pride. 

WITH  ME  this  is  a  golden  motto:  De- 
spise not  ten  minutes,  says  Dr.  Scudder. 

HARRIET  MARTINEAU  asserts  that  there  is 
nothing  so  popular  as  cheerfulness. 

SCHILLER  says  we  are  never  great  but 
when  we  play. 

THOSE  WHO  make  this  world  a  home,  do 
not  prefer  absence  from  the  body,  and 
presence  with  the  Lord. 

WHETHER  Christ  be  in  us,  is  the  criterion 
of  self-judgment. 

GOOD  ORDER  is  imperative,  says  one,  except 
where  absolute  necessity  overpowers  and 
masters  the  situation. 

IT  is  WHAT  WE  DO,  and  not  where  we 
do  it,  that  is  the  main  thing. 

PRESIDENT  Humphrey  states,  in  relation 
to  the  great  awakening  at  the  close  of  the 
last  century,  that  the  pastors  had  no  seats 
set  apart  for  the  awakened ;  nor  did  they 


MISCELLANEOUS.  183 

call  upon  any  who  wished  for  special 
prayer  to  signify  it  by  rising  in  the  meet- 
ings. They  did  not  say  to  the  awakened, 
41  Do  not  be  discouraged/'  but,  "  How  long 
will  you  hold  out  in  your  rebellion  against 
God?  Why  don't  you  submit  to  him,  and 
embrace  his  Christ?" 

To  A  GODLY  PARENT,  there  is  no  such 
heart-break  as  a  godless  child. 

TRIALS  are  the  tuning  of  the  instruments 
for  the  melodies  of  heaven. 

^"OT  MERCY  only,  but  justice,  is  due  to 
the  brute. 

IT  WAS  a  significant  but  sad  comment  on 
Charles  V.,  when  Richard  Morryson  said  of 
him,  "  There  is  in  him  almost  nothing 
that  speaks  besides  his  tongue." 

WE  MAY  TALK,  said  Nettleton,  of  the  best 
means  of  doing  good;  but  after  all  the 
greatest  difficulty,  lies  in  doing  it  in  the 
proper  spirit. 

THE  ONLY  NEW  society  now  needed  is  one 
whose  object  should  be  to  prevent  the  for- 
mation of  any  more  societies. ' 

Said  Ridgley  to  Latimer  as  they  were 
going  to  the  stake  near  Oxford :  God  will 


184  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

either  assuage  the  flame,  or  else  strengthen. 
us  to  abide  it! 

THOSE  WHO  have  least  religion  are  most 
willing  to  run'*into  temptation. 

To  BE  ALMOST  saved,  is  to  be  eternally 
lost. 

JOHN  KNOX,  who  prayed,  "  Lord,  give  me 
Scotland,  or  I  die!"  has  been  dead  almost 
two  hundred  years ;  yet  all  Scotland  feels 
his  power  stilL 

TRAVELLING  puts  a  Christian  life  to  a 
severe  test. 

ROBERT  HALL  called  a  glass  of  brandy  a 
glass  of  distilled  damnation. 

WHICH  is  easier,  to  give  for  the  Lord,  or 
to  spend  for  ourselves  ? 

PROVIDENCE  reveals  itself  to  the  watcher ; 
and  so  is  it  with  the  golden  opportunities 
of  usefulness. 

IN  THE  CONVERSATION  between  Augustine 
and  Monica  just  before  the  latter7  s  death, 
it  appears  that  those  two  eminent  saints 
thought  more  of  knowing  the  truth  for- 
ever than  of  seeing  each  other  forever. 

WE  AFFIRM  that  every  Christian  is  as 
much  bound,  as  the  minister  of  the  gospe!7 


MISCELLANEOUS.  1 85 

to  decide  his  residence  and  his  occupation 
by  a  call  of  God.  Thousands  are  ignoring 
this  law,  by  their  self-seeking  choices  of 
homes  and  pursuits. 

FOR  WHOM  am  I  working  and  struggling, 
self  or  Christ? 

SABBATH  KEEPERS  live  longer  than  Sab- 
bath breakers. 

REVIVALS,  to  be  genuine,  must  come, 
like  rain,  from  heaven,  not  from  men. 

WAS  A  MAN  ever  convinced  by  being  at- 
tacked ?  An  old  fable  suggests  an  answer. 

THE  SECRET  inclination  of  your  soul  de-. 
termines  what  you  are. 

THE  SUNLIGHT  is  as  needful  for  man  as 
for  the  herb  of  the  field ;  and  the  light  of 
God's  face  is  as  needful  for  the  soul,  as 
for  the  body. 

WHY  SHOULD  religious  difference  be 
pressed  into  mortal  hatred? 

IT  is  SAID  that  even  the  prudent  Franklin 
left  work  for  his  executors  which  he  should 
have  done  himself. 

IT  is  AN  AGE  of  societyism,  externalism, 
bluster. 

A  NOBLE  BROTHER  writes :     "  The  severest 
9* 


186  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

trials  we  ever  pass  through  are  not  from 
strangers  or  worldlings,  but  from  mistaken 
or  unsanctified  brethren.  So  David  found 
it,  but  the  Lord  delivered  him." 

DR.  C.  B.  CRANE  says:  Was  there  ever 
a  heretic,  who  did  not  have  something  of 
truth,  even  in  his  heresy  ? 

I  PITY  little  children  in  a  godless  family. 

BEFORE  you  boast,  wait  a  little  and  see. 

Is  IT  A  deadly  crime  to  cease  to  hold 
with  the  mass  of  a  great  denomination  on 
a  point  of  order? 

lt  HE  must  increase,"  is  a  sufficient  an- 
swer to  such  as  believe  the  cause  of  God 
declining. 

IT  is  NOT  of  wood  or  stone  we  now  make 
our  idols,  but  of  our  own  conceptions. 

CHARACTER  is  defined  by  Emerson  as  in- 
capability of  being  upset. 

"  IF  IT  BE  possible,"  was  the  qualification 
used  in  the  most  solemn  prayer  ever  ut- 
tered on  earth. 

To  ESCAPE  annoyance,  make  up  your 
mind  not  to  be  easily  annoyed. 

WHEN  A  REAL  Christian  receives  encour- 
agement, he  is  humbled  by  it. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  187 

ROUSSEAU  and  Augustine  furnish  the 
most  striking  illustrations  of  two  kinds  of 
confession. 

NEVER  EXULT  over  a  fallen  adversary. 
He  may  get  up  again. 

STUART  MILL  says  all  reforms  have  to 
pass  through  the  three  stages  of  ridicule, 
argument,  and  adoption. 

NOTHING  SOONER  throws  discredit  on  a 
man's  religion  in  the  eyes  of  the  world 
than  carelessness  about  one's  debts. 

TRUE  RELIGION  does  not  seek  notoriety. 

RANDALL  owed  his  conversion  under  God 
to  the  death  of  Whitefield.  It  is  believed 
that  Paul  owed  his  conversion  in  some 
sense  to  the  death  of  Stephen. 

A  REVIVED  Christianity  in  the  dominions 
of  Russia  would  have  a  grand  effect  in  the 
way  of  evangelizing  China. 

BLESSED  is  the  suffering  man  or  woman 
who  is  not  exacting  and  selfish,  and  who 
can  be  merciful  to  others. 

THE  WAY  a  man  eats  is  no  slight  test  of 
the  degree  of  his  refinement. 

A  WINNER  OF  SOULS  went  to  a  sinner  and 
beautifully  said :  God  has  a  chosen  people, 


188  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

and  I  hope  you  are  one  of  them.  Come, 
and  lay  hold  on  Jesus,  and  put  your  trust 
in  him. 

A  PROMINENT  journalist  well  says  that  a 
concentrated  truth  often  does  more  execu- 
tion than  a  volume  of  argument. 

THOSE  WHO  PERSECUTE  seem  to  be  the  least 
aware  that  their  "act  is  persecution.  They 
think  they  are  doing  God  service. 

WILLIAM  JAY  said  he  once  received  in  the 
pulpit  this  note:  The  prayers  of  this  con- 
gregation are  desired  for  a  man  who  is 
prospering  in  his  worldly  concerns. 

THE  SURRENDER  which  the  sinner  is  called 
upon  to  make  to  Christ  includes  a  submis- 
sion of  his  reason  and  understanding,  and 
2  Cor.  10:5  proves  it. 

THE  INCREASE  of  the  spirit  of  levity  among 
a  people  is  in  general  an  alarming  symptom 
of  deterioration  of  character. 

GUTHRIE  is  impressed  that  the  Bible  re- 
cords but  one  instance  of  a  death-bed  con- 
version;— one,  that  none  may  despair;  and 
but  one,  that  none  may  presume. 

You  WILL  NOT  be  long  in  believing  when 
once  you  perceive  that  Christ  is  as  fitted 


MISCELLANEOUS.  189 

to  the  needs  of  your  soul,  as  air  to  the 
wings  of  a  bird,  as  food  to  the  hungry. 
Go,  try  him!  If  you  shall  find  that  he  is 
not  suited  to  you  case,  it  will  be  time 
enough  then  to  reject  him. 

GREAT  POLITICAL  elections  generally  bring 
declension  in  the  church.  A  humiliating 
fact! 

THE  DISTRIBUTION  of  affliction  is  one  of  the 
mysteries  of  GocJ's  ways. 

GREAT  CHARACTER  is  as  rare  a  thing  as 
great  genius,  says  Lowell. 

NOTHING  is  ever  gained  by  running  like 
a  coward  away  from  trouble,  or  from 
threatening  difficulty. 

SIR  GEORGE  MACKENZIE  suggestively  said 
of  Robert  Leighton  that  he  drew  many  into 
a  kindness  for  episcopacy  by  his  exemplary 
life  rather  than  debates. 

Is  IT  at  all  safer  for  a  man  to  oppress  in 
any  way,  than  for  a  nation? 

THE  SAVIOUR'S  earthly  ministry  illustrates 
the  idea  that  a  short  intense  life  is  the 
longest. 

A  BIOGRAPHER  says  of  Coleridge :  He  suf- 
fers deeply,  and  deeply  repents.  His  whole 


190  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

life  is.  a  sigh  of  penitence,  a  prayer  for 
amendment.  But  he  never  amends! 

DR.  JOHNSON  said:  Sir,  there  is  a  great 
cry  about  infidels ;  but  in  reality  there  are 
but  very  few  infidels. 

ALL  IMPROVEMENT,  or  change,  has  its  own 
peculiar  peril. 

SUPERSTITION,  it  has  been  said,  is  the 
blind  energizing  of  the  lost  feeling  of 
man's  relationship  to  God. 

WE  MAY  conceive  of  the  past  as  a  capa- 
cious mind,  and  events  as  the  ideas  in  it. 

JOHN  FOSTER  said  that  the  great  are 
much  more  dependent  upon  the  little  than 
the  little  upon  the  great. 

MAN  without  decision  belongs  to  every 
body  except  himself. 

BAD  MEN  find  the  very  depravity  of  the 
race  contributing  to  their  success.  Good 
men  have  to  rest  their  success  on  the 
righteousness  of  their  cause,  and  the  favor 
of  God. 

WHAT  THE  MOST  dependent  and  afflicted 
child  in  the  family  is  to  the  parental  heart, 
that  all  the  children  of  God  are  to  him. 

DR.  HOVEY  says  that  a  man's  presenti- 


MISCELLANEOUS.  191 

ment  of  what  is  to  be  has  quite  as  much  to 
do  with  his  character  as  his  sense  of  what 
has  been. 

GOD  is  SOVEREIGN  as  to  the  time  as  well 
as  the  type  of  a  revival  of  religion. 
That  is  not  a  genuine  revival  which  does 
not  show  forth  the  sovereignty  of  the 
Spirit. 

No  Sabbath ;  then  atheism. 

A  BARREN  TREE  found  in  the  orchard 
fares  worse  than  if  standing  in  the  woods. 

LITTLE  does  he  desire  to  know  the  truth 
of  God,  who  will  not  go  where  he  can 
hear  it. 

GOD  HAS  KEPT  the  great  day  hid  from  us, 
that  we  may  be  every  day  ready  for  it. 

LET  us  STAND  for  the  truth  which  we 
have  perceived! 

IN  ONE  OF  HIS  SERMONS  John  Wesley 
propounded  the  doctrine  that  the  brute 
creation  will  have  a  resurrection. 

IT  HAS  BEEN  ingeniously  said  that  every 
one  is  covetous,  whose  beneficence  does  not 
increase  in  the  same  proportion  as  his  sub- 
stance. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  knows  all  things,  in  their 


192  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

moral  nature  or  distinctions;  as  for  exam- 
ple whether  they  are  good  or  bad,  true  or 
false,  spiritual  or  unspiritual.  John  says 
they  have  a  divine  unction  qualifying  them 
for  this  discernment. 

WAYLAND  HOYT  advocates  the  introduc- 
tion of  distinctly  formulated  doctrinal  in- 
struction into  our  Sabbath  schools.  We 
need  the  precise  statements  of  the  cate- 
chism. Systematic  knowledge,  he  con- 
tends, is  as  necessary  in  Christianity  as  it  is 
in  science. 

IT  WOULD  BE  a  great  thing  if  some  one 
would  tell  us  what  events,  epochs,  and 
scenes  in  the  last  book  of  the  Bible  belong 
to  the  invisible  world,  and  what  to  the 
visible  or  material. 

RIGHTLY  VIEWED,  -there  is  no  such  thing 
as  a  trifle  in  this  world. 

I  AM  a  great  believer  in  the  virtue  of  a 
journey  of  fifty  miles,  for  giving  tone  to  the 
system  when  it  has  been  overworked,  said 
Dr.  Arnold  of  Rugby. 

IT  is  NO  unreasonable  demand,  that  the 
man  of  science,  when  judging  of  the  things 
of  the  Spirit,  shall  leave  his  solitary  emi- 


MISCELLANEOUS.  193 

nence,  and  place  himself  among  the  sym- 
pathies and  needs  which  he  shares  with 
all  men,  says  Professor  Shairp  in  "  Culture 
and  Religion." 

WAS  THERE  ever  a  man  that  did  not  pray 
in  some  form  ? 

To  FIND  strength  in  weakness,  and 
triumph  in  oppression,  how  good  it  is! 

WESLEY  counselled  all  his  societies  as 
follows :  Gain  all  you  can ;  save  all  you 
can;  give  all  you  can. 

To  THE  UNPREPARED  death  is  always  sudden ; 
to  the  prepared  it  is  never  sudden. 

IT  WAS  A  SAYING  of  Augustine:  God  is 
good  wTho  in  refusing  that  which  we  wish 
gives  us  that  which  we  wish  more. 

ARISTOTLE  fixed  upon  the  forty-ninth 
year  of  men's  lives  as  the  one  in  which  the 
faculties  reach  their  acme. 

MERCIES,  as  well  as  judgments,  humble 
the  wise  man. 

IN  THIS  WORLD  there  is  a  great  deal  more 
trouble  than  prayer;  but  there  is  no  more 
prayer  than  deliverance. 

NOTHING  VENTURE,  nothing  have.  Grand 
achievements,  sublime  successes,  great  rev- 


194  THINGS   TO    THINK    OF. 

olutions  and  discoveries,  are  usually  trace- 
able to  sombody's  sanguine  temperament. 

PUSEY  calls  music  as  it  were  the  echo  of 
the  harmony  of  all  creation. 

YOUR  CHURCH  may  be,  and  perhaps  is,  a 
child  of  faith,  as  truly  as  Muller's  Orphan- 
age. 

PLANT  a  tree  which  will  bless  those  who 
come  after. 

EVERY  ONE  of  the  Christian  denomina- 
tions has  a  tender  spot,  which  if  you  touch, 
you  make  it  smart  and  cry. 

FIVE  REASONS  for  giving  liberally  are  pre- 
sented in  the  eighth  chapter  of  Second 
Corinthians. 

REWARDS  to  those  who  deserve  nothing 
is  a  fact  of  our  religion  difficult  to  under- 
stand. 

COMMUNITY  of  goods  will  do  for  perfect, 
not  for  imperfect,  men. 

PAUL  was  peculiar  in  his  use  of  universal 
terms. 

IT  is  SAFE  fearlessly  to  do  right. 

WASHINGTON  and  Wesley  resembled  each 
other  in  their  personal  dignity,  self-control, 
and  faculty  of  administration.  They  were 


MISCELLANEOUS.  195 

both  conservatists  while  they  were  revolu- 
tionists. The  parallel  between  the  two 
men  is  somewhat  striking,  in  these  and 
other  respects. 

WE  MUST  be  prepared  for  divine  gifts, 
though  we  may  not  deserve  them. 

CALVIN  was  not  pushed  to  his  doctrinal 
conclusions  by  controversy,  or  opposition ; 
but  he  reached  them  through  calm,  posi- 
tive, study.  He  seems  rather  to  be  follow- 
ing conviction,  than  making  a  point  with 
an  adversary.  This  is  an  element  of  great- 
ness. 

POLYBIUS  in  numerous  instances  illus- 
trates the  language  of  Paul. 

OF  CHRYSOSTOM  Ellicott  says,  how  amply 
does  the  great  expositor  repay  perusal! 

THAT  A  WEEKLY  seventh  part  of  our  time 
should  be  specially  given  up  to  God,  rests 
on  considerations  as  old  as  the  creation, 
says  Ellicott. 

ENLARGED  ACQUAINTANCE  with  ecclesias- 
tical history,  like  extensive  travel,  tends  to 
foster  a  catholic  and  charitable  spirit. 

MACAULAY  commended  the  language  of 
Thomas  Hobbes  as  more  precise  and  lumi- 


196  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

nous  than  was  ever  employed  by  any  other 
metaphysical  writer. 

THE  POLITICAL  STATE  of  Europe* when  the 
Reformation  commenced  was  favorable  to 
its  success. 

You  MAY  possibly  direct  a  movement, 
which  you  would  like  to  resist  but  can- 
not. 

MACAULAY  claimed  that  there  is  a  pe- 
culiar malignity  which  has  in  all  ages  been 
characteristic  of  apostates. 

MACAULAY  said  that  the  years  during 
which  the  Anglican  hierarchy  was  in  the 
zenith  were  precisely  the  years  during 
which  the  national  virtue  was  at  the  lowest 
point. 

A  LITTLE  SHARP  persecution  from  without, 
will  do  as  much  as  rigid  discipline  within, 
to  purify  a  religious  society. 

PROTESTANTISM  affiliates  most  readily  with 
the  Teutonic  races. 

THE  THEORETICAL  and  the  speculative  must 
be  ballasted  with  the  practical  and  the 
material. 

THE  TWO  theologians  of  the  Reformation, 
says  Shedd,  were  Melancthon  and  Calvin. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  197 

Do  NOT  assail  an  old  system  too  hastily 
though  it  be  corrupt.  Let  the  movement 
be  made  strong,  deliberate,  and  patient, 
when  it  is  made. 

LUTHER  was  a  higher  Calvinist  than 
Calvin  himself.  The  latter  undoubtedly 
gave  a  larger  place  to  the  human  element 
than  the  former  did, 

PRESENT  fidelity  facilitates  our  next  un- 
dertaking. 

IT  is  a  piece  of  art  to  be  an  atheist,  said 
Sherlock.  . 

LET  us  NOT  underrate  the  value  of  a  fact, 
said  Thoreau ;  it  will  one  day  flower  into 
a  truth. 

RATIONALISM,  said  Donosa  Cortes,  is  the 
sin  which  most  resembles  original  sin,  be- 
ing, like  it,  an  error  in  itself,  and  the  pro- 
ductive cause  of  error. 

NOTHING  expands  the  mind  like  the 
knowledge  of  God. 

IT  TAKES  CIRCUMSTANCES  to  bring  out  what 
a  man  is.  Says  Dr.  Gumming:  Nero  as 
the  pupil  of  Seneca  was  mild  and  amiable, 
but  as  Emperor  of  Rome  was  an  execrable 
monster.  Mary,  Queen  of  England,  in  her 


198  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

youth  was  a  gentle  and  affectionate  princess. 
Her  history  on  the  throne  is  written  in 
blood.  Robespierre  in  his  early  days  was 
humane,  tender,  and  sensitive.  His  latter 
days  were  stained  with  terrible  attrocities 
and  murders. 

IT  is  EASY  to  take  advantage  of  the  weak; 
to  speak  of  them  unjustly,  to  hold  them  up 
to  contempt,  to  crowd  them  in  the  contest 
of  opinion ;  but  it  is  somewhat  dangerous. 

IF  UPON  ENTERING  the  sanctuary,  the 
American  worshipper,  like  t-he  English, 
would  bow  his  head  for  a  moment's  prayer, 
it  would  greatly  promote  the  impression  of 
reverence  so  desirable  in  the  house  of  God. 

IN  THE  FEW  moments  preceding  the  open- 
ing of  a  religious  service,  silence  on  the 
part  of  those  who  are  waiting  in  their  seats 
is  much  better  than  communication,  as  all 
can  testify  who  have  noticed,  or  felt,  any- 
thing about  it. 

PRAYER  for  the  sake  of  its  mere  reflex 
influence  will  soon  cease  to  ask  for  things, 
and  only  say  them.  Asking,  in  such  a 
case,  could  not  be  real. 

No  PERSON  should  stay  away  from  the 


MISCELLANEOUS.  199 

sanctuary  because  he  will  be  late ;  and  yet 
if  he  is  early  there,  how  much  he  serves 
others  and  himself.  How  much  less  of 
distraction;  how  much  more  enjoyment! 

RELIGION  and  intelligence  are  the  two 
pillars  of  popular  government. 

How  SAD  when  those  starting  out  in  their 
married  life  desert  the  house  of  God.  How 
hopeful  and  promising  for  them, .  and  for 
society,  when  they  take  their  places  as  pil- 
lars in  the  cause  of  religion.  But  how  few 
comparatively  of  our  young  couples  in 
these  days  take  upon  themselves  steadily 
the  responsibilities  of  a  public  worship ! 

THE  TENDER  friendship  of  Calvin  for  Farel 
and  Viret  was  something  beautiful.  The 
union  of  soul  that  existed  between  Calvin 
and  Beza  was  wonderful.  A  strict  theo- 
logian may  have  a  warm  heart. 

THE  TIME  may  come  when  a  minister  can 
best  serve  his  people  by  ceasing  to  serve 
them,  and  may  thereby  best  prove  his  love 
for  them.  But  how  easy  to  mistake  in  dis- 
cerning the  time. 

EXTREME  PARTICULARITY  in  trifles  may 
cause  social  discomfort  and  restraint.  It 


200  THINGS    TO    THINK    OF. 

is  the  saying  of  some  one,  that,  for  a'  person 
*to  be  a  thoroughly  popular  companion7 
there  should  be  about  him  a  little  touch 
of  unpreciseness>and  indifference  to  -small 
things.  After  all,  it  may  be  better  to  incur 
the  cost  of  being  precise  and  particular. 

You  CANNOT  HAVE  a  new  success  in  this 
world  without  haying  to  turn  quickly  from 
it  to  some  fresh  trial  and  contest;  and  your 
new  success  also  will  bring  its  own  draw- 
backs. heartaches,  and  solicitudes. 

A  REAL  SENSE  of  Grod's,  presence  will 
expel  egotism. 

I  DWELL  among  mine  own  people,  and  T 
love  to  do  them  good. 


^^ 

FINIS. 


14  DAY  USE 

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